Bears emerge after Intel, other earnings; proposed $58B bank merger could be factor
January 15, 2004: 5:57 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Some disappointment about tech earnings and J.P. Morgan Chase's proposed $58 billion acquisition of Bank One will combine with economic figures and corporate results to keep U.S. stock markets hopping Thursday.
At 5:50 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a sharply lower open, particularly for the tech-laden Nasdaq.
The big drag could be Intel. The world's No. 1 chipmaker posted fourth-quarterearnings and sales that were higher than expected, but included a larger-than-forecast goodwill writeoff and a larger-than-forecast tax gain from divestitures. Investors had also run up the stock before the report, so there could be some softness on the news coming out.
Other results posted after the close Thursday included Internet portal Yahoo!, which met estimates, and Apple Computer, which posted results at the high end of expectations.
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Intel was down 1.7 percent, Apple was down 3.7 percent and Yahoo! was lower by 2.7 percent.
Also drawing investors' attention Thursday will be the stunning proposed purchase of Bank One by J.P. Morgan Chase. The stock-swap deal, if completed, would create the nation's second-largest banking company, behind Citigroup, with assets of more than $1.1 trillion.
There are lots of economic numbers on the agenda before the markets open Thursday. The consumer price index for December is due, with economists surveyed by Briefing.com predicting a 0.2 percent rise overall and a 0.1 percent rise excluding food and energy prices.
December retail sales are expected to show a 0.8 percent increase, and a 0.4 percent gain excluding autos.
The weekly jobless claims number is forecast to decline to 350,000 in the week ended Jan. 10 from 353,000 the prior week.
Other reports due Thursday include regional manufacturing reports from the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve Banks, as well as the Treasury budget for December.
For details of Wednesday's rise, click above
The Dow Jones industrial average comes off a 1.1 percent gain Wednesday after a surprise narrowing of the nation's trade gap. The Nasdaq composite index managed a 0.7 percent advance. (see chart for details)
Asian-Pacific stocks ended lower Thursday in response to the negative reaction to the tech results; Tokyo's Nikkei fell 1.8 percent. European markets were mixed. (Check the latest on world markets)
Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 3.99 percent. The dollar slipped against the yen, and was flat versus the euro.
Brent oil futures rallied 43 cents to $31 a barrel in London as a winter storm socked the Northeast. Gold pulled back.
Among the companies reporting results Thursday are bank companies Bank of America (BAC: Research, Estimates), FleetBoston (FBF: Research, Estimates) and Wachovia (WB: Research, Estimates). After the close, Sun Microsystems (SUNW: Research, Estimates) reports its quarterly figures.
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