bis sich die bullen zu wochenbeginn ausgetobt haben. zumindest morgen wirds wohl erstmal noch ein stück hoch gehen. am dienstag könnten dann aber schon neagtive impulse kommen, von den nachbörslichen oracle-zahlen nämlich. werde also vermutlich dienstag shorts einkaufen gehen. an den übrigen tagen stehen dann noch massig (negative) konjunkturdaten an.
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Stocks seen making gains SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- U.S. stocks are expected to post gains this week as investors put cash to work after weeks of tension over possible terrorist attacks at big events like the political conventions and the Olympics, strategists said.
The market could start the week off with a rally, they said, if the weekend anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon passes without new terrorist action.
"There may be a relief rally if there is no attack on the anniversary," said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer at Pan Agora.
But Peters and others said any gains were likely to be modest as a mixed bag of factors including continued terrorism fears, an OPEC meeting, options expiration and earnings pre announcements keep investors on tenterhooks.
Investors will also have to face uncertainty about possible damage from Hurricane Ivan, which is expected to hit Florida by midweek. It would be the third hurricane to strike the stat in a month.
A string of government reports this week will give an idea of how the economy performed in August.
Strategists said they expected worries about a terrorist attack to weigh on the market all the way to the election, especially in light of the airing on Thursday of an al-Qaida video tape in which a senior member of the organization threatened new attacks on the United States.
"The message we got from Al Qaida ... is a negative," said Joe Liro, equity strategist with Stone & McCarthy Research Associates. McCarthy said the well-known pattern in which al- Qaida's threats are often followed by attacks was putting people on edge.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting Wednesday also will be closely watched. While strategists concede there is little concrete action OPEC can take to bring down the price of oil, investors would like to hear soothing rhetoric from its leaders.
"They can talk nice," Liro said. "From what I can tell they are pumping as fast as they can."
And were the price of a barrel of crude to fall to $40 or below, it would produce a substantial rally, said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst and strategist at S.W. Bach.
"The market will continuously keep a very close eye on the price of oil," he said.
Options expiration, known as "quadruple witching," was likely to boost volume, and analysts said they expected it to lend support to prices as investors decide whether or not to roll over their outstanding positions in a market that has shown some resilience in recent weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU: news, chart, profile) ended at 10,313.07 Friday, up 23.97 points on the day, giving it a 0.5 percent gain for the week.
The Nasdaq Composite ($COMPQ: news, chart, profile) rose 24.66 points to close at 1,894.31 Friday, a gain of 2.7 percent for the week.
Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($SPX: news, chart, profile) closed at 1,123.92 Friday, up 5.54 points on the day and 0.9 percent for the week.
Eyes on third-quarter earnings expectations
As investors begin to digest a dribble of earnings pre announcements this week, they will turn their attention to the prospects for earnings growth in the third quarter.
Liro said he expected earnings to grow 16 percent to 17 percent over the third quarter of 2003, but that this week probably would bring negative announcements.
"The confession period is coming up where firms will get religion and admit that they will fall short of expectations," he said, while noting that overall he expected companies meeting or beating expectations to outnumber those that fall short.
Data compiled by Thomson First call shows that overall earnings expectations are for growth of 14.8 percent this quarter, twice the long-term average rate of 7 percent.
On the pre-announcement front, Thomson said the negative-to-positive ratio among companies in the S&P 500 stands at 1.7, which is still below the long term ratio of 2.0.
The market still will have to contend with a trickle of earnings.
On Monday, Campbell Soup (CPB: news, chart, profile) is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 18 cents per share on sales of $1.5 billion, according to the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson First Call. The outlook for the first quarter is for a profit of 52 cents per share on sales of $2 billion.
On Tuesday Oracle (ORCL: news, chart, profile) is expected to report a profit of 9 cents per share on sales of $2.23 billion for the first fiscal quarter of 2005. The outlook for the second quarter is for a profit of 13 cents per share on sales of $2.66 billion.
Grocery store chain Kroger (KR: news, chart, profile) is expected Tuesday to report second quarter earnings of 27 cents per share on sales of $12.87 billion. The outlook for the third quarter is for a profit of 28 cents per share on revenue of $12.66 billion.
Also on Tuesday, household goods retailer Pier 1 Imports (PIR: news, chart, profile) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 11 cents per share on sales of $452 million. The outlook for the third quarter is for a profit of 30 cents per share on sales of $512 million.
Wednesday will bring second-quarter financials from electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY: news, chart, profile), which is expected to post a profit of 51 cents per share on sales of $6.06 billion. For the third quarter, analysts expect a profit of 44 cents per share on sales of $6.68 billion.
On Friday, Biomet (BMET: news, chart, profile) is expected to report fiscal first-quarter earnings of 35 cents per share on sales of $440 million. For the second quarter, the company is expected to post a profit of 38 cents per share on sales of $460 million.
Circuit City Stores (CC: news, chart, profile) will also report on Friday, and analysts expect the company to post a loss of 11 cents per share on sales of $2.33 billion for the second quarter. In the third quarter, expectations are for a loss of 6 cents per share on sales of $2.62 billion.
Data shows economic moderation
Turning to economic data, analysts expect the reports due this week to confirm early indications that the economy slowed its growth rate last month.
"The general trend is that growth moderated in the third quarter," Peters said.
Investors will have to evaluate August retail sales data on Tuesday. Analysts polled by CBS MarketWatch expect, on average, that retail sales will show a decline of 0.1 percent after July's 0.7 percent rise.
The state of the current account in the second quarter will be released on Tuesday, with analysts expect a record deficit of $158.7 billion for the period, up from the previous figure of $144.9 billion.
On Wednesday, the government will release data on industrial production and capacity utilization in August. Analysts expect industrial production to rise 0.4 percent after July's 0.4 percent rise. Capacity use is expected to show a reading of 77.4 percent, up from 77.1 percent in July.
Wednesday will also see the release of July inventories data. Analysts expect inventories to have risen 0.8 percent after a 0.9 percent rise in June. The Empire State Index, which measures manufacturing activity in New York state, will be released the same day, with analysts predicting a September reading of 17.4 after August's 12.6.
Thursday, the government will release the consumer price index for August, and analysts expect a rise of 0.2 percent after July's drop of 0.1 percent. So called core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent rise in July.
Also on Thursday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's September manufacturing index will be released, and analysts expect it to show a reading of 24.2, down from 28.5 in August.
Consumer sentiment for September will be released on Friday, with a reading of 96.3 expected, up from 95.9 in August.
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