U.S. markets come off solid week. News from Motorola and PeopleSoft may add to gains.
October 6, 2003: 8:32 AM EDT
By Mark M. Meinero, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stock markets, off to a solid start in October, seem set to continue the trend Monday on news from the semiconductor and software sectors.
At 8:15 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a higher start for the major indexes.
Motorola Inc., the No. 2 mobile phone firm, said Monday it plans to shed its semiconductor operations to form a new, publicly traded company.
The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company said the move would allow it to focus on other aspects of its business, including cell phones.
PeopleSoft Inc. (PSFT: Research, Estimates) said Monday its third-quarter profit and revenue will top its earlier forecasts due to strong demand for its software.
The company, which acquired J.D. Edwards & Co. and is fending off a hostile bid from rival Oracle Corp. (ORCL: Research, Estimates), said in September it would generate revenue of $575 million to $590 million in the third quarter.
Wall Street expects the company to post a profit of 11 cents a share in the third quarter, according to research firm Thomson First Call.
U.S. markets are coming off a strong week, capped by Friday's gains on a better-than-expected September employment report. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 2.8 percent for the week, including Friday's 84-1/2 point advance. The Nasdaq composite index was almost 5 percent higher after a 44-plus point gain (see chart for details).
The weekend was full of violence in the Middle East, with Saturday's suicide bombing of an Israeli restaurant that killed 19 other people and the reprisal airstrike against what the Israelis said was a terrorist training site in Syria. (Click here for the latest developments from CNN.com) Some investors worry that instability in the region could drag on oil prices, and cause more problems for the United States, which is dealing with difficult military situations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Investors are waiting for the first two Dow components to report September quarter results -- Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) and General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates) -- as well as from Internet portal Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates) The reports will come out throughout the week.
Among stocks moving in before-hours trading Monday, shares of Sanmina-SCI gained 1.3 percent after a CSFB upgrade and SAP rose more than 5 percent after a Merrill Lynch upgrade.
Asian-Pacific stocks ended mostly higher on the strength of the U.S. employment report; Tokyo's Nikkei index rose 0.3 percent. European markets started the day mixed. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.20 percent. The dollar edged up against the yen, but was slightly lower versus the euro.
Brent oil futures gained 47 cents to $28.68 a barrel in London, where gold tumbled in early trading.
Many market participants will be sidelined Monday for the Jewish commemoration of Yom Kippur
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