u.s. tech stocks seen higher, dow lower after alco CORRECTED -...

u.s. tech stocks seen higher, dow lower after alco CORRECTED - U.S. tech stocks seen higher, Dow lower after Alcoa
September 10, 2004 7:28am ET (Reuters)

In NEW YORK story headlined "U.S. tech stocks seen higher, Dow lower after Alcoa," please read in 6th paragraph ..."Nasdaq 100 futures climbed up 1.5 points..." instead of "...climbed up 10.5 points... " (corrects figure)

A corrected repetition follows

By Michael Flaherty

NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. tech stocks looked to open higher on Friday, building on momentum from Nokia Corp.'s raised forecast, but blue chips may be headed lower after a profit warning from Alcoa Inc. .

PeopleSoft Inc. may also boost tech shares after a federal judge rejected the government's bid to block Oracle Corp.'s proposed acquisition of the business software maker.

Walt Disney Co. will also be a focus stock after the entertainment and media conglomerate's long-time chief executive, Michael Eisner, said he would resign in two years.

Alcoa fell more than 5 percent on Thursday after the world's largest aluminium producer warned that plant shutdowns, restructuring costs and weakness in certain markets will hurt its third-quarter profit.

S&P 500 futures were down 1.1 points, about even with fair value accounting for dividends, interest rates and time to expiration on the contract, indicating the market would open near unchanged.

Dow Jones industrial index futures dipped 9 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed up 1.5 points.

"I think the market is going to trade like it did yesterday," said Barry Hyman, chief investment strategist at Ehrenkrantz, King, Nussbaum.

Alcoa was a dissapointment, but technology stocks will continue to be bolstered by cell-phone maker Nokia after its upbeat business update on Thursday, Hyman said. Nokia's news helped power Nasdaq to a gain of more than 1 percent on Thursday.

"But a day before Sept. 11, I think we may see a pyschologically somber day," Hyman said, adding that Hurricane Ivan may also worry investors.

Traders fear Hurricane Ivan may next week strike the Gulf of Mexico, home to about a quarter of U.S. oil and gas production, although the storm's forecast track is to the east of most energy facilities.

Oil prices made fresh gains on Friday after leaping almost $2 a day earlier the U.S. government said crude stocks sank for the sixth straight week last week and distillate fuels barely grew ahead of winter.

U.S. light crude was up 32 cents at $44.93 a barrel in electronic trading.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 24.26 points, or 0.24 percent, at 10,289.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 2.11 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,118.38. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index ended up 19.01 points, or 1.03 percent, at 1,869.65.

Among other possible movers, Intersil Corp. , which makes a range of microchips, may fall fell after the company revised its third-quarter 2004 revenue and earnings guidance.

On the data front, the U.S. producer price index for August is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). A surge in energy costs probably pushed producer prices higher in the month, although analysts said the rise in prices remained benign to the economy. End of Story