Wall St. marches on

March 4, 2002 Posted: 1350 GMT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -- U.S. stocks will try to keep rising Monday, building on the new month's big gains despite a profit warning from Oracle, whose shares tumbled more than 10 percent before hours.

Both the Nasdaq-100 and Standard & Poor's futures rose modestly, indicating a higher start for stocks when the opening bell rings.

Last week, U.S. stocks finished with a flurry after the Institute of Supply Management's report on manufacturing pointed to expansion for the first time since July 2000. The report encouraged investors to think that corporate profits, lagging for the past two years, could begin to rebound before the end of 2002.

"I think the stimulation that (Federal Reserve Chairman) Alan Greenspan has given to the economy is starting to take hold," Peter Mancuso, a market specialist with Performance Specialist Group, told CNNfn's Street Sweep late Friday. "It's going to take us a little while, by the third quarter, maybe even into the fourth quarter, we may see things do better."

One glitch in the rally could be Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates), whose shares tumbled $1.89 to $14.10 in before-hours trading. The business software maker warned late Friday that profit and sales in the quarter that ended last week were weaker than expected. Its results will be announced March 14. Prudential lowered its 12-month price target on the stock to $18 from $20, and Merrill Lynch cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy."

Another negative factor could be word from Afghanistan that a U.S. military helicopter has been downed by enemy fire, resulting in multiple fatalities, according to U.S. officials. The downing comes as an offensive against suspected Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters accelerated this weekend about 90 south of Kabul.

The Dow Jones industrial average starts the week at a six-month high of 10,368.86, after surging 262 points, or 2.6 percent, Friday. The Nasdaq composite index stands at 1,802.74 after jumping 71 points, or 4.1 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index is at 1,131.78, having gained 25 points.

In addition to the ISM report, strong economic data on the housing market, durable goods orders and personal spending sent stocks surging on the week.

The follow through continued in Asian stocks, with Tokyo's Nikkei index rising nearly 6 percent Monday. European markets were broadly higher at midday.

Treasury prices were flat in early trading, with the 10-year note yield steady at 4.98 percent. The dollar slumped against the yen and was unchanged versus the euro. Brent oil futures fell 9 cents to $21.83 a barrel in London, where gold rose broadly in early trading.

General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates), the world's No. 1 automaker, was upgraded by J.P. Morgan Chase to "buy" from "market outperform." The company is introducing a natural gas-consuming van and a redesigned version of a popular European model at this week's International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland. GM shares rose 63 cents to $55.60 in before-hours trading Monday.

TRW (TRW: Research, Estimates) has rejected an unsolicited $5.9 billion bid from aerospace builder Northrop Grumman (NOC: Research, Estimates), saying the offer undervalues the diversified manufacturer. Northrop last month offered $47 a share in stock for TRW, which rose $1.45 to $51.50 in before-hours trading Monday. Northrop closed Friday $107.75, up 71 cents.

The New York Times said Global Crossing, the communications company that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, may by bought by a Los Angeles investment firm, Gores Technology, for more than $750 million. AT&T (T: Research, Estimates)  and SBC Communications (SBC: Research, Estimates)  are interested in bidding for Global Crossing's assets, the Wall Street Journal said.

Palm (PALM: Research, Estimates) announced a new round of handheld computers with bright color screens available immediately. Palm shares rose 6 cents to $3.05 before hours.