By Jeff Sanford
(June 21 – 12:00 ET) – The TSE has lost much of the record gains it made Tuesday. The 300 index dropped 80 points shortly after opening, presumably on jitters about interest rate increases. While it has since bounced back slightly, the index is off 33 points at 10,206.7 so far this morning.
Along with news on interest rates, markets are also waiting on word from OPEC this afternoon on whether or not member states will increase oil supply.
An announcement by Oracle that revenue on its database software was lower than expected has spooked tech investors. Even though its earnings beat analyst’s estimates, slower sales on database software is one more sign the economy is slowing. The negative news has knocked tech stocks, Ballard Power and Nortel among them, down slightly this morning.
Market breadth is negative this morning with declining issues outnumbering advancers 497 to 407, with 286 unchanged. Trading volume is relatively light with 62 millions shares traded so far.
Ten of the 14 sub-indices are also down this morning. Industrials is down on the Oracle fallout, while metals and pipelines are both down over 1%. On the upside, communications and consumer products are both up, rising 166.17 and 101.95 points respectively.
The CDNX is also off as it continues a slight weeklong downward trend. It’s down 1.25 points at 3,469.18
In the U.S., disappointing earnings “pre-announcements” are pushing markets around this morning. Though not numerous, the negative earnings reports are scaring investors already worried about an economic slowdown. Earnings announcements may be having an undue effect on markets because of the dearth of economic news this week.
Opening at 10,446.83, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed to 10,464.77 before falling to 10,407.94 at midday. The NASDAQ composite index, up several points in early morning trading is now off 11 points at 4,002.14. The S&P 500 is also down almost 7 points so far this morning to 1,469.28.