Replies to post #13691 on Archie's Corner (POW)

[timhyma]

I'm still holding on MED, IBAS, FBCE, TRIB.

[Archangel]

Mark, CSCO (nice recovery) Stocks Seen Higher at Open>>>

By Kevin Burke
Staff Reporter
01/09/2002 08:49 AM EST


Stocks are poised for a modest gain at the start of trading Wednesday following positive news from the semiconductor and retail sectors.

Futures were showing the S&P 500 trading about 2 points above fair value as computed by TheStreet.com, while the Nasdaq 100 was showing a 9-point gain.


Foreign markets were mixed with London's FTSE 100 losing 0.7% to 5212 and Germany's Xetra Dax up 0.2% to 5245. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.3% to 10,664 due to weakness in banking shares while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 2.3% to 11,440.

Merrill Lynch (MER:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) said Wednesday it will cut 9,000 jobs amid a revenue slump. The company backed fourth-quarter earnings estimates but said weak debt-trading and investment banking results will cause an 8% sequential sales decline. The company will also record a $1.7 billion after-tax charge.

Analysts at Lehman Brothers upgraded Aetna (AET:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) to strong buy from market outperform citing signs of operational improvement in 2002, increased confidence in management and potential earnings growth when the economy recovers. Lehman increased its 2002 earnings estimate to 45 cents a share and raised its price target to $45.

Dupont Photomask (DPMI:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) raised its earnings outlook, saying it now expects to break even in the fourth quarter on revenue of $86 million. Previous guidance was for a loss of 10 cents to 40 cents a share and revenue of $70 million to $80 million.

Luxury bag maker Coach (COH:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) upped its second-quarter earnings estimate to at least 96 cents a share from previous guidance of 92 cents.

Skechers (SKX:NYSE - news - commentary - research - analysis) raised fourth-quarter sales guidance to $200 to $215 million vs. the previous consensus estimate of $181 million according to Briefing.com.

Cisco (CSCO:Nasdaq - news - commentary - research - analysis) was the most active stock in preopen trading, as nearly 600,000 shares changed hands on Instinet. Shares of the networking giant climbed 2% to $21.36.

The 10-year Treasury note was recently losing 4/32 to 99 9/32, yielding 5.09%.

http://www.thestreet.com/markets/marketstory/10006403.html






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