Investors await ISM services index, consider Daimler warning with indexes at recent highs.
June 4, 2003: 5:36 AM EDT
By Mark M. Meinero, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A look at the services sector and a warning from DaimlerChrysler will be considered by investors Wednesday, with the major stock indexes standing at recent highs.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a mixed start for the indexes.
The Institute for Supply Management's May reading of the services sector -- due after the markets open -- is expected to come in at 52, above the 50.7 reported in April, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. If the forecast pans out, it would signal further expansion of the sector and a sign of economic expansion.
Before the opening bell, the government revised its first-quarter measure of productivity. It's expected to be pushed up to 2 percent from the originally reported 1.6 percent.
Helping to lead European markets lower was DaimlerChrysler, which lower its full-year profit forecast late Tuesday because of a $1.17 billion second-quarter loss at its U.S. Chrysler unit. U.S. shares of DaimlerChrysler (DCX: Research, Estimates) fell 11 cents to $31.65 Tuesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent Tuesday, the sixth straight gain for the blue-chip measure, which stands at its highest point in six months. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 0.8 percent, and hasn't been this high since May 31, 2002 (see chart for details).
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.1 percent.
Treasury prices gained in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 3.31 percent from 3.34 percent late Tuesday. The dollar declined against the yen, but was slightly higher versus the euro.
Brent oil futures slipped 17 cents to $27.10 a barrel in London, where gold was slightly higher in early trading.
Among the stocks to watch Wednesday will be Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates) as investors await what the home decorating company says will be the federal indictment of its namesake. Shares fell $1.68, or 15 percent, to $9.52 in Tuesday trading after the company announced theimminent legal action and Stewart, in a videotaped message to shareholders, reaffirmed her intention to fight any charges.
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