New record low versus euro has U.S. markets poised for higher open heading into holiday.
November 24, 2004: 6:43 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A new record low for the dollar against the euro could give U.S. stocks a lift early Wednesday.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open for markets on the last day of trading before the Thanksgiving holiday. If volumes are light it could add volatility to the markets. The weaker dollar can be good for many U.S. companies, increasing revenues from overseas and hiking prices of foreign competitors.
In addition to setting the new record versus the euro, the dollar was lower against the yen as well.
Asian markets ended mixed, as Japan's Nikkei gained the day after a holiday there while Hong Kong Hang Seng's lost ground. European markets were also mixed in early trading, with France's CAC-40 and London's FTSE 100 losing ground while Germany's DAX rose.
U.S. markets closed little changed Tuesday after oil prices again crossed the $50 mark before slipping again to end just below that mark.
Oil was mixed early Wednesday ahead of a report on inventories. U.S. crude futures fell 11 cents to $48.83 a barrel in electronic trading early Wednesday, while Brent oil futures rose 4 cents to $44.49 a barrel in London.
Bond prices were higher, with the yield on 10-year treasuries falling to 4.17 percent in early trading.
There will be a flood of economic reports Wednesday led by an 10 a.m. ET reading on October new home sales. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that new home sales came in at an annual rate of 1.2 million for October, little changed from the 1.21 million pace in September.
Other reports include initial jobless claims for last week, durable goods orders for October and the revised reading on consumer sentiment in November from the University of Michigan.
In corporate news, the Wall Street Journal reports that federal prosecutors are investigating whether American International Group (Research) Chairman Maurice "Hank" Greenberg manipulated the company's stock to save money on a $23 billion acquisition in 2001. Shares of the Dow component were up 24 cents to $64.44 in pre-market trading on Inet early Wednesay.
Media conglomerate Viacom (Research) agreed late Tuesday to pay a record $3.5 million fine to Federal Communications Commission to settle a variety of indecency complaints about it broadcast indecent material on its radio and television stations. But the agreement does not settle the proposed $550,000 fine for Janet Jackson's breast-baring during the Super Bowl halftime show, which the company continues to fight.
Google (Research) shares gained $8.73, or 5 percent, to $176.25 in after-hours trading Tuesday after Goldman Sachs analyst Anthony Noto put a $215 price target on the stock. The move followed a $195 target price put on the stock before the market Tuesday by First Albany Capital and Credit Suisse First Boston's $225 target price set Nov. 10.
An American cow suspected of having mad cow disease was cleared of the disease in a second round of testing, the Agriculture Department said late Tuesday, after a spike in cattle prices in expectation of the news. Shares of Dow component McDonald's (Research), the nation's largest burger chain, gained 15 cents to $30.25 in after-hours trading following the report.
Attorneys for Oracle (Research) and PeopleSoft (Research) are due in court in Delaware Wednesday in a battle over PeopleSoft's so-called "poison pill" provision that it is using to try to fend off Oracle's hostile $24 a share bid for the company. Oracle had 61 percent of PeopleSoft shares tendered by last Friday.
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