Wall St. leans forward

December 5, 2001 Posted: 1352 GMT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- U.S. stocks, buoyed by a tech-inspired run-up, are poised to open to the upside Wednesday, although world events and a deeper-than-expected warning from Ford could influence early direction.

At 8:45 a.m. ET, stock futures pointed to a higher open for the tech-laden Nasdaq Stock Market and a more modest initial advance for other issues.

The U.S. markets are coming off good-sized gains Tuesday that were primarily due to positive analyst comments about the key semiconductor sector. UBS Warburg said it sees a bottom in chipmakers' new equipment orders and chip equipment makers' revenue, and upgraded several chip equipment makers' stocks.

UBS also raised the price target for the No. 1 chipmaker, Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) , in advance of the company's mid-quarter update scheduled for Thursday. Intel shares gained 34 cents to $33.20 in before-hours trading Wednesday.

In Germany, Afghan factions have reached agreement on an interim government that includes a broad section of the nation's diverse ethnic groups. A leader of the largest single group, the Pashtun, will head the new government -- which might be seen as stabilizing the nation even as U.S.-backed forces continue the battle against the Taliban and the search for suspected terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.

Having little impact on futures was some negative news from Afghanistan: word that two American soldiers were killed and 20 others were wounded when a U.S. bomb missed its target near the Taliban-held city of Kandahar.

A powerful explosion caused by a suicide bomber occurred outside the entrance of a luxury hotel in downtown Jerusalem Wednesday, killing the bomber and injuring six others. The latest attack follows a spate of bombings in Jerusalem and Haifa over the weekend.

In other corporate news, automaker Ford (F: Research, Estimates) warned of a larger-than-expected loss of 50 cents a share for its fourth quarter. Analysts surveyed by First Call had forecast a loss of 14 cents a share. Shares of Ford lost 92 cents to $16.87 in before-hours trading Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average starts the day at 9,893.84, within 107 points of 10,000, after gaining nearly 130 points Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index is at 1,963.10, within 37 points of 2,000, after a 58-point advance. The S&P 500 begins at 1,144.80 following a 15-point rally.

Asian stocks joined in the gains, closing mostly higher Wednesday. European markets got a midday lift from oil issues, bolstered by Russia's decision to cut oil production by about 2 percent.

That decision helped lift Brent oil futures 61 cents to $19.90 a barrel in London.

Treasury prices fell in early trading, with the 10-year note yield rising to 4.71 percent from 4.65 percent late Tuesday. The dollar gained against the yen, but lost ground versus the euro. 

The only economic report due Wednesday is the National Association of Purchasing Management's November report on the services sector, scheduled shortly after markets open. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect the index to rise to 43 from 40.6 in October.

Shares of the crippled energy trader Enron (ENE: Research, Estimates) were boosted more than 33 percent, gaining 29 cents to $1.16 in before-hours trading Wednesday, on news that the company is reportedly in talks with J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS Warburg to form a joint venture of its energy trading business.

Oracle's (ORCL: Research, Estimates) CEO and co-founder Larry Ellison said at the company's annual technology conference that the No. 2 software maker's business had stabilized and could see growth in 2002. Oracle's shares were up 75 cents to $14.55 in before-hours trading Wednesday.

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH: Research, Estimates) said it remained comfortable with Wall Street's 2001 earnings expectations, and said 2002 earnings should also be in line with analysts' hopes. UnitedHealth's shares lost 4 cents to $71.29 in trading Tuesday.

AT&T (T: Research, Estimates) late Tuesday terminated its $307 million bid to buy the assets of Excite@Home and accused the bankrupt Internet service provider of violating their contract by cutting off service. Shares of AT&T gained 15 cents to $17.59 in trading Tuesday.