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Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Midday Market View(TM) for Tuesday, May 15, 2001 as of 1:00PM EDT Information provided by Standard & Poor's ================================================================ U.S. INDICES (1:00p.m. EDT) ---------------------------------- Market Value Change DJIA 10,849.00 - 28.30 Nasdaq Comp. 2,097.52 + 15.60 S&P 500 1,249.15 + 0.23 ---------------------------------- NYSE Advancing Issues 1,705 NYSE Declining Issues 1,257 NYSE Trading Volume 498 mln NASDAQ Advancing Issues 1,987 NASDAQ Declining Issues 1,621 NASDAQ Trading Volume 782 mln ================================== U.S. TREASURIES ---------------------------------- Value Yield Change 1-year bill 3.77% n/a 5-year note 4.99% - 9/32 10-year note 5.47% - 9/32 30-year bond 5.84% + 1/32 The tables above look best when viewed in a fixed-width font, such as "Courier." ================================================================ U.S. TRADING SUMMARY Stocks continue to hover around unchanged levels as U.S. traders await the Fed's decision on interest rates. Volatility and trading volume diminished as the day wore on. While many traders believe that the Fed will cut the key short-term interest rate an aggressive 50 basis points, there is a sizable amount of uncertainty surrounding the policy statement that will be released with the Fed's rate decision. Given increasing speculation that the Fed's easing cycle is coming to an end, investors will closely scour the wording of the statement for clues about future Fed actions. If the market interprets the Fed as suggesting that its easing cycle is about to end, the stock market's focus will likely shift back to corporate earnings, which have been shaky of late and worrisome to investors. ---------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. TREASURY SUMMARY All was quiet as bond traders await the outcome of the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting at 2:15 p.m. EDT. Ahead of the news, Treasuries drifted modestly lower on profit-taking as shorter-dated Treasuries under-performed the bond. Reduced expectations for continued Fed rate cuts have been the major drag on shorter-term bills and notes this session. Look for Treasuries to continue to trade in light volume ahead of the FOMC announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------- CURRENCY SUMMARY With traders unwilling to make bets ahead of the FOMC meeting, the dollar is little changed from morning levels against the euro and the yen. The greenback is currently trading around 123.2 yen and 0.879 dollars per euro. ---------------------------------------------------------------- MAJOR COMPANY / INDUSTRY NEWS (All prices as of 1:05 p.m. EDT) ** Verisign (VRSN: 53.00, + 1.64) and the Department of Commerce appear close to reaching an agreement that will extend Verisign's control over the ".com" Internet address suffix, according to The Wall Street Journal. The agreement would be a major coup for Verisign, which maintains control over the majority of Internet domain name registrations. The company has come under the microscope from regulators amid voiced concerns from other companies stating that Verisign's hold over ".com" is anti-competitive. Currently, Verisign has a preliminary agreement with the Department of Commerce to maintain control of the ".com" suffix through at least 2007. ** Home Depot (HD: 50.11, + 0.96) reported a stronger-than-anticipated profit in the first quarter of this year, citing reduced expenses and stronger sales. The firm said net income rose to $632 million, or $0.27 per share. Sales rose 9.8%. The firm was expected to earn $0.25 per share. As for the next quarter, the firm said it expects to meet analysts' expectations for per share profit. ** Bail has been set in the corporate espionage case involving two former Lucent Technologies (LU: 9.80, + 0.09) employees who are accused of stealing trade secrets. Authorities allege that the information was destined for a company that is majority-owned by the Chinese government. A federal judge set bail at $900,000 for each of the two defendants. The two former employees, along with a third man, are accused of stealing source code and software associated with Lucent's PathStar Access Server. The case demonstrates the vulnerability of U.S. corporate companies to the threat of global economic espionage. ** The time for individual stock futures is just around the corner. Soon investors will be able to buy and sell futures on individual stock issues on the largest U.S. derivatives exchanges, according to newswire reports. Both the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board Options Exchange have agreed to take part in the venture. The joint venture will be its own regulated exchange and a for-profit entity. A future obligates the holder to buy or sell the underlying security, at a date and price that is specified in the future. Single-stock futures trading may begin as early as August for institutional investors and in December for retail investors. ---------------------------------------------------------------- RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS ** Friedman, Billings and Ramsey upgraded shares of Tupperware Corp. (TUP: 21.99, + 0.07) from an accumulate to a buy rating. ** Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Robert Half International (RHI: 28.34, + 0.42) from an outperform to a strong buy rating. ** Jefferies upgraded shares of 3DO Co. (THDO: 2.95, + 0.12) from a hold to an accumulate rating. ################################################################ Log in using the links below to: Access your account: https://investing.schwab.com/trading/start?SANC=CCBodyi&NeedCASelValue=Y View your Email Alert customization options: https://investing.schwab.com/trading/start?SANC=EAMyAlerts Perform research or request a market quote: https://investing.schwab.com/trading/start?SANC=Quotes Place a trade order: https://investing.schwab.com/trading/start?SANC=TradeStock To visit Schwab's home page, use this link: http://www.schwab.com/ ----------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe or modify your Email Alert customization options, log in using the link below or copy and paste it into your browser's address window: https://investing.schwab.com/trading/start?SANC=EAMyAlerts Now you can receive graphics Email Alerts in HTML format, using helpful, full-color graphics and active Web links that connect you directly to information you want. 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