investors appear set to wrap it up on a positive note.

Stocks appear set to end week in positive territory

RTGAM



After a grim and bloody start to the week, investors appear set to wrap it up on a positive note.
Asian and European Stocks are higher and U.S. stock index futures also are up, although down from higher levels overnight.

Among the developments contributing to the move are the afterglow of a strong forecast and much better fourth-quarter results reported late Thursday by tech giant Microsoft, and a British news report that U.S. billionaire Wilbur Ross may buy Ambac Financial Group, one of several "monoline" bond insurers that are the latest focus of concern in the fallout from the subprime mortgage debacle.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei index is up 4 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is up more than 6.7 per cent, Shanghai is up 0.93 per cent and Bombay's Sensex 30 is 6.62 per cent ahead. In Europe, the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 is up 1.35 per cent, Britain's FTSE 100 is ahead by 1.12 per cent and Germany's DAX index is up 1.8 per cent.

As for U.S. stock futures, the March contract on the Dow Jones industrial average is up about 70 points, which the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts are up 9.3 and 20 points, respectively.
Among the positive signs for Canadian equities today are that oil prices have pushed back above $90 (U.S.) a barrel, helped by the U.S. stock market rally and the economic stimulus plan agreed upon yesterday by Congress and the Bush administration.

"Oil's move up is in step with what's happening in equity markets," Global Insight analyst Simon Wardell told Reuters. "Seems like there is a turn in the view that the year ahead isn't going to be so bleak in terms of the U.S. economy and this has knock-on effect on oil."

As well, gold prices soared to a new record of $923.40 an ounce before slipping back to $921.80 in late morning in Europe, driven partly by oil's rise, along with the belief more U.S. interest rate cuts are on the way, but also by a power crisis which has shut down several mines in South Africa.


Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail