NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Investors remained shy in pre-open dealings Friday, with the top averages set to open near the unchanged mark and some timid sponsorship emerging in the beleaguered tech sector.
March S&P 500 futures rose 1.00 point, or 0.1 percent, but were trading 1.10 points under fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. And Nasdaq futures gained 6.00 points, or 0.4 percent and were trading 2.50 points above fair value.
Chip stocks, sacked on Thursday amid cautious analyst words on Intel, looked to recoup some losses.
Xilinx (NasdaqNM: XLNX - news) and Altera (NasdaqNM: ALTR - news) in particular were benefiting, with the former up $2 to $36 and the latter up $1.18 to $21 in European action. Both companies were upgraded by J.P. Morgan to a long-term "buy" from a "market perform."
Treasurys get another lift
Government bonds, which have benefited from the stock market's woes in recent sessions, opened on a higher note.
The 10-year Treasury note was up 6/32 to yield 4.83 percent while the 30-year government bond tacked on 10/32 to yield 5.345 percent.
No data is set for release on Friday. Late Thursday, economists of the National Association for Business Economics project that the U.S. economy will grow about 2.9 percent from the fourth quarter of 2001 to the fourth quarter of 2002 and about 3.7 percent in 2003. Additionally, the 37 economists surveyed said they were fairly certain of a recovery, with 60 percent surmising that the recession is already over. They put the odds of a double-dip recession at just 20 percent. and check economic calendar and forecasts.
In the currency space, the dollar declined 0.1 percent to 134.22 yen while the euro added 0.4 percent to 87.34 cents.
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