New York (CNN/Money) -
Investors might flee from technology stocks Wednesday, while watching for signs of life in the retail sector, after Intel disappointed traders with results released after the bell Tuesday.
Although second-quarter profits at technology bellwether Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) nearly doubled, sales figures came in a bit lower than Wall Street forecasts, causing the stock to fall by almost 5 percent in after-hours trading to $24.88 after closing at $26.14.
The world's biggest manufacturer of chips used in personal computers and servers reported net income of $1.76 billion, or 27 cents a share, up from $896 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier. The consensus earnings estimate on Wall Street was 27 cents a share, according to earnings tracker First Call.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company also reported sales of $8.05 billion, up 18 percent from a year ago, but slightly lower than analysts' expectations of $8.1 billion. (For full story, click here.)
Other technology stocks fell after hours on the Intel news, including Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates), Dell (DELL: Research, Estimates) and Oracle (ORCL: Research, Estimates).
Three key economic indicators will be released before the bell Wednesday, all at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Retail sales for June are expected to show a cooling economy, off by seven-tenths of a percent, compared to a jump of 1.2 percent in May, according to Briefing.com. Also set for release are June figures for import prices, excluding oil, and June figures on export prices, excluding autos.
Three sector-leading companies will release second-quarter earnings before the bell Wednesday. In finance, Bank of America (BAC: Research, Estimates) is expected to post earnings of $1.74 a share, according to Briefing.com. Motorcycle powerhouse Harley-Davidson (HDI: Research, Estimates) is expected to show earnings of 75 cents per share and media conglomerate the New York Times (NYT: Research, Estimates) is slated to come in at 49 cents a share, according to Briefing.com.
Although Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR: Research, Estimates). posted a quarterly net loss on Tuesday, the network equipment maker saw its shares soar as its profit, excluding one-time items, blew past Wall Street's expectations as demand in the telecommunications segment strengthened.
Shares of Juniper, the No. 2 maker of equipment that directs Internet traffic and a smaller rival of Cisco (CSCO: Research, Estimates), rose almost 10 percent in after-hours trading to $24.03 after closing at $22.
In other news, Yum Brands Inc. (YUM: Research, Estimates), parent of the KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell fast-food chains, on Tuesday reported higher quarterly earnings and raised its full-year profit outlook, helped by a strong performance at its international operations. Its stock was up slightly after the bell.
New executives were appointed at Credit Suisse First Boston when the bank named Brian Finn president and Neil Moskowitz chief financial officer.
And the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight isn't making life any easier at Fannie Mae, saying an accounting investigation at the scandal-clad mortgage company would be proceeding faster if OFHEO "had complete submissions and more timely availability of employees."
|
