U.S. markets confront weak U.S. currency, NBC-Universal tie, wait for Yahoo! earnings.
October 8, 2003: 5:51 AM EDT
By Mark M. Meinero, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The dollar's continued weakness, a definitive merger accord between NBC and Universal, and anticipation of Yahoo!'s third-quarter earnings will make this a busy Wednesday for U.S. stock markets bidding for their sixth straight gain.
At 5:45 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a lower start for the major indexes, although they were off their lowest points of the overnight period.
The dollar tested a three-year low against the yen and came within a cent of the all-time low versus the euro early Wednesday before bouncing up. The weak currency has been more of a drag on overseas stocks than U.S. issues because of concern about how it will play with companies that export goods to the United States.
Japanese stocks tumbled Wednesday, with the Nikkei index down 2.6 percent, although other Asian-Pacific markets were mixed. European stocks rallied after a weak start. (Check the latest on world markets)
One positive for Europe was the announcement of a definitive agreement merging General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates)'s NBC with Vivendi Universal's U.S. entertainment assets. The deal would create an entertainment conglomerate worth about $43 billion.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, GE was down nearly 1 percent.
After trading concludes, Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates) is expected to post a profit of 9 cents a share, above the 5 cents a share earned a year earlier, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call. For the company to make investors happy, it'll have to do better than the forecast and offer some positive guidance going forward. Yahoo! shares were lower in European trading.
Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates), the first Dow component to report September quarter results, posted a profit of 33 cents a share late Tuesday. That was above the 29-cent-a-share consensus of analysts. Alcoa shares rose 4 percent in European trading.
The government issues its report on wholesale inventories for August after the start of trading. They're expected to have risen 0.1 percent, compared with no change in July, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com
The Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq composite index both rose for the fifth straight session amid continued optimism about the earnings reports coming in the next few weeks. The Dow rose 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq climbed by 0.7 percent. (see chart for details)
Treasury prices were little changed, with the yield at 4.26 percent. Brent oil futures slipped 24 cents to $28.32 a barrel in London, where gold was higher
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