CNN/Money  
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Markets & Stocks
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Stocks to watch Tuesday
California Pizza heats up in after-hours trading; Kraft Foods buys Veryfine for undisclosed amount.
March 29, 2004: 6:12 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wall Street will find ways to keep up the bullish momentum Tuesday as the rest of the week is jammed with market-moving figures like consumer confidence, factory orders, vehicle sales and, most importantly, a jobs report.

After the closing bell Monday, shares of California Pizza Kitchen (CPKI: Research, Estimates) climbed more than 4 percent after the restaurant chain raised its earnings forecast and said same-store sales rose 6.2 percent in the first quarter.

Its shares climbed to $20.45 on the INET electronic brokerage system from $19.55 at its close on Nasdaq.

Separately, Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT: Research, Estimates) said it plans to acquire privately-held beverage maker Veryfine Products Inc., but the largest North American food maker refused to disclose terms of the purchase.

Veryfine, based in Littleton, Mass., had 2003 net sales of more than $150 million, led by Fruit2O, the No. 1 flavored water in the United States, Kraft said.

On the economic front, the Conference Board will release the results of its monthly survey on consumer confidence at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday. Wednesday, the Commerce Department will report on factory orders for February.

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Major automakers will also get into the action Thursday as they report sales for March. The Institute for Supply Management will then release its manufacturing report for March. The Labor Department will also issue its weekly jobless report.

Yet, in a market obsessed with the state of the labor market, these figures will be overshadowed by Friday's monthly payrolls numbers. Median forecasts are for a modest 103,000 rise in March following February's meager gain of 21,000.

The dismal state of the jobs market is seen as the major factor holding back a rate hike from the Federal Reserve, so any hint of a revival in employment could help or demolish optimism in stocks.  Top of page


-- Reuters contributed to the story




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.