By James Langton
(June 29 – 09:00 ET) – Markets look weak this morning in the wake of yesterday’s FOMC decision to leave rates unchanged. The Fed did not rule out future action on interest rates. Some feel that the markets won’t breathe easy until it’s clear the tightening cycle is over.
There are no major data releases out today.
In Europe stocks are down with telecoms leading the way after a profit warning from phone giants Nokia and Ericsson warned that overall industry growth may slow, too. London’s FTSE is down 60 points to 6,253. France’s CAC 40 is off 106 points to 6,502. In Germany the benchmark DAX is down 157 points to 6,898.
Profit warnings also put a pall over U.S. markets where the futures are all down. Unisys Corp. has warned about its profit picture, sending its shares down and menacing the tech sector in general.
France Telecom’s Internet division, Wanadoo, has announced an IPO that may bring in as much as US$19 billion.
In Asia markets were mixed. There’s some optimism in Japan after the yen rallied to a three-day high after the downgrade to its credit rating wasn’t as bad as some feared. Also some analysts are expecting the Bank of Japan may soon raise interest rates. The Nikkei finished up 106 points to 17,475. The Hang Seng closed down 151 points to 16,286.
In other news, Nortel Networks Corp. has announced a co-marketing alliance with Juniper Networks for their advanced optical and core routing products for communications networks.
Bell Canada International has appointed Louis Tanguay as president and CEO. He was president and COO of the firm. Tanguay replaces Michael Sabia who was appointed executive vice president of BCE and vice chairman of Bell Canada.