Investors are setting themselves up to end summer on an upbeat note.
Ahead of today's deluge of economic data,
S&P 500 futures on
Globex
were lately up 6.30 to 1527.50, almost 7 points above fair value as calculated by
Prudential Securities
. The thinly traded
Nasdaq 100
futures were up 70.64 to 4159, almost 71 points above fair value, as calculated by
TheStreet.com
, indicating that tech stocks will open strongly on the positive side. Fair value helps gauge how stocks will perform in early trading. Today, all signs are pointing toward green.
Economic data will be the focus of investor interest today, with the release of the August
employment report
(
definition |
chart |
). The report, which always gets scrutinized to measure how the economy is faring, is not likely to change the course of monetary policy. Instead, it will likely confirm the economic slowdown that seems to have started.
Also today, the August
Purchasing Managers' Index
(
definition |
chart |
) will be released.
Among individual stocks in the news,
Terra Networks
(TRRA)
is jumping in preopen action. The provider of Internet access and content in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries was trading at 47 on
Instinet
, up $6.87 from Thursday's $40.13 close. Terra in May set a deal to acquire
Lycos
(LCOS)
. Lycos is also trading higher, lately at $77 on Instinet, up from Thursday's close at $71.
Nokia
(NOK) - Get Report
was getting a boost, recently traded at $45.75, up $1 from its close at $44.75 Thursday. And
Nortel
(NT)
was traded lately at $82.50, up $1 from its close at $81.50 Thursday.
