By James Langton
(March 31 – 09:00 ET) – Yesterday’s stock market slaughter ended on a positive note as tech stocks saw a little rebound at the end of the day. Today the futures are pointing to an up open, although that rarely means anything for the tone of the day.
Economic data out this morning include U.S personal income and personal expenditure, reported up 0.4% and 1% respectively. These numbers were on expectation and didn’t move traders much. Later the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index and Michigan consumer sentiment are due.
Statistics Canada reports that our gross domestic product was up 0.5% in January, led by both strong domestic and foreign demand. January’s GDP increase marked the 18th consecutive monthly increase.
In Europe stocks are mostly up, with drugs leading the way. Internet shares remain sluggish. The FTSE is up 63 points to 6,508 in London. France’s CAC 40 has added 39 points to 6,353. The German DAX is up 47 points to 7,692.
In M&A news, AT&T, British Telecom and several other telecoms agreed to spend a total of US$1.4 billion for a 39% stake in Net2Phone Inc. German steel giant ThyssenKrupp AG is offering US$8.4 billion for Mannesmann AG’s industrial business.
Overnight in Asia, stocks ended down rather modestly with Nasdaq’s 3% haircut weighing on traders. The Nikkei finished down 104 points to 20,337, although it ended the Japanese fiscal year with a 28.4% gain. The Hang Seng closed down 61 points to 17,406.
In business news, Quebecor is selling its CD-ROM unit to Q-media for $63 million. Hummingbird has decided to cancel its proposed stock split in light of recent tech stock weakness.