NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- Negative pre-announcements from Lucent Technologies and Nokia put a damper on action ahead of the official opening bell Tuesday, with soggy overseas action adding to the glum tone.
The futures markets signaled a sharply lower open across the board.
March S&P 500 futures slumped 9.70 points, or 0.8 percent, and were trading 4.00 points below fair value, according to HL Camp & Co. figures. Nasdaq futures were just as soggy, sliding 30.00 points, or 1.9 percent and were trading 37.30 points under fair value.
Worries over Securities and Exchange Commission probes surfaced again and also worked to curtail buying interest among investors.
The SEC asked WorldCom (NasdaqNM: WCOM - news) late Monday to voluntarily produce documents and information related to a third-quarter 2000 charge, among other things. And federal regulators asked Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q - news) for information on how the company treated certain financial transactions Monday.
Trim Tabs noted that corporate investors turned "horribly bearish" last week in the face of bullish government statistics.
The fund flow and liquidity tracker said the net change in trading float of shares grew dramatically.
"The trading float grows when either companies or insiders sell never before traded shares. The trading float shrinks via stock buybacks and cash takeovers," Trim Tabs explained, pointing out that new offerings of $4.6 billion late week trounced the meager $497 million of new cash takeovers and $235 million of stock buyback announcements.
"Corporate investors are bearish and Wall Street market strategists are bullish. There is no doubt that corporate investors have a much better record of predicting the future," the firm concluded in its latest research note.
Treasurys get more upside
Government bonds tallied gains for a second session after seven straight sessions of grueling selling pressure.
Expectations for a sour start in the equity realm was adding to the appeal of fixed-income securities. Tuesday's data void will give investors a respite from the recent swarm of stronger-than-expected news.
Wednesday's February retail sales report will draw the most attention from investors as it'll reveal just how sturdy consumer spending -- the driving force of the U.S. economy -- was last month.
The 10-year Treasury note was up 10/32 to yield 5.275 percent while the 30-year government bond climbed 13/32 to yield 5.69 percent.
In the currency sector, the dollar was modestly higher against the major currencies. Dollar/yen rose 0.3 percent to 128.66 while the euro plumbed shed 0.2 percent to 87.31 cents.
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