U.S. Stocks Set to Open Flat

albena
25 Apr, 2005
New York City

Major markets in Asia closed higher Monday, as positive corporate earnings offset the investors

The broader TOPIX gained 1.28 points, or 0.11%, to finish Monday's trading at 1,132.17.
The Nikkei Stock Average rose 27.82 points, or 0.25%, close at 11,073.77 points.

The dollar was trading at 105.64 yen at 5 p.m. Monday, down 0.88 yen from late Friday in Tokyo and below the 106.01 yen it bought in New York later that day. The dollar traded between 105.50 yen and 106.07 yen in Tokyo.

Germany's benchmark DAX 30 index slipped 0.3% to 4,209; CAC 40 index dropped 0.3% at 3,969; London's FTSE 100 index declined 0.1% at 4,845.

The euro fell to $1.3020 late Monday afternoon from $1.3037 late Friday and to 137.62 yen from 139.26 yen. The euro also lost gained ground against the yen, falling to a one-month low of 137.59 yen.

Crude futures rose on Monday facing a meeting between President Bush and Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to discuss solutions to the current high oil prices.

U.S. light crude hit a session high of $56 a barrel, before sliding to $55.75, up 36 cents and adding to a gain of $1.19, or 2.2%, on Friday. London Brent crude was up 33 cents to $55.30 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $55.70. Gasoline futures were trading up 0.77 cents to $1.66 a gallon, around 11% above levels one week earlier.

Major companies slated to report this week include Kimberly-Clark Corp., American Express Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co., Microsoft Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp..

The rosy corporate earnings news and positive economic data kicked the stock market back last Thursday and any negative news in this week's corporate earnings and economic indicators could frighten investors away.

Moreover, the weekend violence in the Middle East may predestine Wall Street's atmosphere on Monday, especially if it reflects upon crude oil prices.


In Other News:

Valero plans to acquire Premcor
Oil prices hover around $56 ahead of Bush and Saudi Prince meeting
Gas prices down on lower demand
IBM is developing a test system for sharing electronic medical data
DoubleClick is being acquired for more than $1 billion by Hellman & Friedman


Earnings Headlines:

Nestle confirms outlook as price rises help sales
Volvo pretax profit beats forecasts
Shering posts higher 1Q earnings
Nissan 4Q profit surges
BioSource reports strong 1Q results