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Stocks Likely Opening Lower After Big Day

Posted on: Tuesday, 30 December 2003, 06:00 CST

U.S. stocks are set to open mostly lower Tuesday, a day after all three major indexes reached their highest levels in a year and a half.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped 125.33 points, or 1.21 percent, to close at 10,450, as all 30 of its members rose. The Nasdaq composite index gained 33.34 points, or 1.69 percent, to close at 2,006.48, its first time above the 2,000 level in almost two years. The Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 13.59, or 1.24 percent, to 1,109.48. With its gain, the S&P 500 is at a 20-month high.

Dow Jones futures fell 16 points recently to 10,415. Nasdaq futures were up a point, while S&P futures were 1.4 points lower.

In London, the FTSE 100 Index was trading higher recently after the year highs in the U.S. lifted the market; the FTSE rose 5.8 points recently, to 4,463.3. The gains in the U.S. also drove other European markets higher.

In European corporate news, Parmalat founder Calisto Tanzi, who was arrested over the weekend, admitted to being involved in an alleged multibillion-euro fraud, according to two people who attended his interrogation. But many questions remain unanswered in the investigation, including where the money went.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average saw a big boost on its last trading day for the year, rising 176.02 points, or 1.7 percent, to end the year at 10,676.64. For all of 2003, the index was up 24 percent. Technology stocks such as Canon and Tokyo Electron and auto exporter shares helped the Nikkei rise Tuesday despite concern about the weakness of the U.S. dollar. Trading in Japan resumes Monday.

In U.S. corporate news, Boeing received a five-year, $8.6 billion continuation of its contract to build F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft for the Navy; the company also won a $1 billion contract for system design and development of the EA-18G airborne electronic-attack aircraft

Late Monday, Pfizer said a federal court ruled in its favor concerning two recent challenges to the company's patents for the antibiotic Vantin and the antidepression drug Zoloft. Meanwhile, Target shares slipped after the retailer said December same-store and corporate sales to date are near the low end of its expectations and below plan, respectively.

No major earnings announcements are expected Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the International Council of Shopping Centers-UBS Retail Chain Store Sales Index for the week of Dec. 27, expected at 7:45 a.m. EST, is seen rising 0.6 percent from the week earlier. Redbook Retail Sales for the week of Dec. 27, expected to fall by 1.2 percent, are due for release at 8:55 a.m.

Existing home sales for November are seen unchanged from October's 6.35 million level, according to economists. The data are scheduled to be published at 10 a.m. by the National Association of Realtors.

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index is seen rising to 92.2 in December from 91.7 in November, economists said. The index is scheduled for release at 10 a.m. by the Conference Board.

Economists expect the December Chicago Purchasing Managers Index to slip back slightly to 62.2 from November's 64.1 reading but note that the index remains at a level indicating a robust expansion. The index is scheduled to be published at 10 a.m. by the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago.

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