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Wall St. gets Palm reading
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March 2, 2000: 7:02 a.m. ET
IPO for organizer company, Aetna bid, economic data on Thursday agenda
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The initial public offering of the maker of a popular electronic organizer, a possible bid for a large insurer and some new economic reports greet investors on Wall Street Thursday.
Early indications suggest U.S. stocks will open slightly lower.
 S&P futures on the Globex trading system were down 4.40 points at 1380.60. That's 1.27 points below fair value for the futures -- a formula taking into account interest and dividend effects -- which was estimated by London traders at 1381.87 Typically, one point of difference between the futures index and fair value equals about eight points on the Dow Jones industrial average as trading opens.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks rose, as the Nasdaq composite index surged 87.39 points, or almost 2 percent, to 4,784.08, on record volume. That marked its third record in five sessions. The Dow Jones industrial average built on its two-day rally to gain 9.62 points to 10,137.93, while the S&P 500 index rose 12.77 points, or almost 1 percent, to 1,379.19.
In Asia Thursday, major markets saw relatively little change. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index slipped 16.56 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 20,065.11, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 93.22 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,936.81. Singapore's Straits Times index finished down 3.88 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,110.17
In morning trading in Europe Thursday major markets were mixed. London's benchmark FTSE 100 slipped 26.60 points, or 0.4 percent, to 6,338.30, while Frankfurt the electronically traded Xetra Dax index fell 69.50 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,658.43. But the Paris CAC 40 gained 54.32 points to 6,310.64, helped by France Telecom posting stronger-than-expected full-year profit late Wednesday and saying it may offer shares in Internet and cellular businesses. Meanwhile, Zurich's SMI gained 9.30 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,968.40.
In the Treasury market, the 30-year bond was down 3/32 of a point in price in trading early Thursday, raising its yield to 6.16 percent from 6.15 percent late Wednesday.
In the currency market, the dollar strengthened against the euro and weakened versus the yen in early trading Thursday. The euro was worth 97.05 cents, compared with 97.48 cents in late trading Wednesday. Meanwhile, the dollar fell to 106.85 yen in early trading, compared with 107.12 yen in late trading Wednesday.
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Economic reports due Thursday include new home sales and leading economic indicators for January. A survey of analysts by Briefing.com finds home sales are expected to have slipped to 880,000 in the month from 900,000 in December, while the economic indicators are expected to show a 0.2 percent gain after a 0.4 percent gain in December.
Initial jobless claims for last week are also due.
In company news, the much anticipated initial public offering for Palm Inc., the manufacturer of PalmPilot electronic organizer, is set to kick off at a price of 38, well above the price range of $30-to-$32 per share, which was raised just this week from $14-to-$16.
Interest in the stock has driven shares of 3Com Corp. (COMS: Research, Estimates), which is spinning off Palm Inc. Shares of 3Com gained another 7/8 to 105 in after-hours trading Wednesday, after a rise of 6-1/8 during regular hours. The stock is up about a third from the closing price Monday.
Trading in shares of Aetna Inc. (AET: Research, Estimates) were halted early Wednesday after reports that WellPoint Health Networks Inc. (WLP: Research, Estimates) and ING America Insurance Holdings Inc. approached it about a possible purchase for $70 a share in cash and stock.
Ahead of its statement Wednesday, shares of Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna rose 11-7/8, or 29 percent, to 53, amid reports about an offer. Shares of Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based WellPoint sank 5-5/8 to 61-7/8. The American depositary receipts of Dutch financial services leader ING Groep NV (ING: Research, Estimates), the parent of ING America Insurance, rose 1/4 to 51-13/16.
The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Philip Anschutz, the chairman and largest shareholder of Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q: Research, Estimates) is believed to support a sale of the company to Deutsche Telecom AG. The paper said a problem with the proposed deal would be the impact on Qwest's proposed $35 billion purchase of Baby Bell US West Inc. (USW: Research, Estimates), which is expected to close this summer.
The CEO of US West announced Tuesday that he would not stay with the companies after the merger because of disagreement over strategic decisions with Qwest management, but the impression of that statement was that the disagreement was mostly about selection of management for the combined concern.
Shares of Qwest closed Wednesday up 11-3/4, or 25 percent, at 58, while shares of US West gained 6-3/8, or 9 percent, to 79.
Financial software provider Intuit Corp. (INTU: Research, Estimates) acted Wednesday after it discovered financial data entered by customers into its popular Quicken Web site had improperly been leaked to the site's advertisers. Intuit provides content to CNNfn.com.
Shares of Intuit gained 3/4 in after-hours trading Wednesday to 49, after losing 4-1/4 at the close of regular hours.
Dow component Boeing Co. (BA: Research, Estimates) and the union representing more than 20,000 engineers and technical employees clashed further Wednesday. The company sought to declare an impasse in negotiations that would allow it to impose terms of its most recent offer, while the union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, announced it would seek an unfair labor practice against the company as well as an end of its federal authority to certify planes as ready for flight.
The union has been on strike against the company since Feb. 9, virtually halting the delivery of new jets. Shares of Boeing fell 5/8 to 36-5/16 in trading Wednesday.
Earnings from retailers continue to show strong results for the fiscal fourth quarter, which included the holiday shopping period. Thursday's scheduled reports include department store operator Dillard's Inc. (DDS: Research, Estimates), wholesale club Costco Cos. (COST: Research, Estimates) and office supply retailer Staples Inc. (SPLS: Research, Estimates). 
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