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Weak stock start seen
Record oil price, Google IPO woes could hurt U.S. markets at Wednesday's open
August 18, 2004: 9:15 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Oil's persistent march to record highs and trouble for the Google IPO could dampen enthusiasm for U.S. stocks when markets open Wednesday.

Early Wednesday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were down.

Oil prices reached an intraday record of $47.04 a barrel early Wednesday on continuing concern about supply from places such as Iraq and Russia. The price represents a 29-cent advance from Tuesday's settlement. Brent oil futures rose 23 cents to $43.22 a barrel in London.

Google said early Wednesday that it has lowered the price range of its initial public offering to $85-$95 a share from the original $108-$135, reducing the value of the search engine's deal to about $1.9 billion.

Stocks are on a little roll so far this week, with solid tech gains Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index led the way with a 0.7 percent advance, while the Dow Jones industrial average was 0.2 percent higher.

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.5 percent. European markets were lower. (Check the latest on world markets)

Treasury prices rose in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield down to 4.16 percent from 4.19 percent late Tuesday. The dollar slipped against the yen but was higher versus the euro. Gold was lower.

Applied Materials, the largest maker of computer chip-making equipment, posted slightly better-than-expected earnings and raised its sales and earnings guidance. Shares of Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates) rose nearly 2 percent in European trading.

Late Tuesday, the U.S. Army appeared to reverse a decision to stop paying a portion of bills from Halliburton (HAL: Research, Estimates) for services in Iraq and gave the company more time to resolve a billing dispute. Shares of Halliburton gained 40 cents to $27.70 in after-hours trading.  Top of page




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