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Markets & Stocks
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Weak start for stocks
Futures turn lower as investors await manufacturing, construction, carsales numbers; oil snaps back.
September 1, 2004: 9:17 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors start September looking to see if stocks can extend Tuesday's late rally by weighing the latest readings on manufacturing, construction and auto sales.

S&P and Nasdaq futures turned lower, pointing to a weak start for Wall Street.

Stocks rallied late Tuesday after being lower for most of the session. Volume continued to be light, as the normal vacations during week before Labor Day were compounded by many New York traders avoiding the city during the Republican National Convention.

The rally lifted each of the major indexes less than 1 percent. (See chart for details).

Light volume, expected again Wednesday, could produce volatility for some stocks.

One thing that could weigh on stocks: a turnaround in oil prices.

Oil futures gained on news of a pipeline fire in Iraq after falling for eight straight session. U.S. light crude for October delivery jumped 60 cents to $42.72 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures gained 61 to $40.22 in London.

On the economic front, a report on August manufacturing from the Institute of Supply Management is due shortly after trading begins. Economists estimate ISM's reading on nationwide activity fell to 60 last month from 62.0 in July. But any reading over 50 still indicates growth in the sector.

Also due early in the session: construction spending for July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that construction spending grew 0.4 percent in July after falling 0.3 percent in June.

Lastly, automakers are set to report August car sales, expected to drop slightly from both July and year-earlier levels, according to Briefing.com's survey.

In corporate news, medical device maker Boston Scientific (BSX: Research, Estimates) said sales of its heart stent have slowed, sending its shares tumbling in before-hours trading.

Movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM: Research, Estimates) has restricted its employees' ability to trade shares in the company, and could announce a deal to be acquired for up to $5 billion as soon as next week, Reuters reported, quoting people familiar with the situation.

The wire service said media conglomerate Time Warner (TWX: Research, Estimates) is the leading contender to buy the company. Time Warner's holdings include two movie studios -- Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema, and it also owns CNN/Money.

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Insurance rating agency A.M. Best Co. placed the financial strength rating of A- of Allstate's Florida unit under review with negative implications, due to the costs of last month's Hurricane Charley, as well as the potential damage of Hurricane Frances, a strong storm now developing east of Cuba.

Allstate (ALL: Research, Estimates), the No. 2 private insurer in the state after mutually-held State Farm, reported late Tuesday that after-tax catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Charley would come to $276 million, or 40 cents a share.

Overseas, Asian stocks closed Wednesday higher, lifted by some strong earnings results there. European markets were also higher at midsession. (Check the latest on world markets)

Bond prices edged higher, pushing the yield on the 10-year note to 4.10 percent, down from 4.11 percent late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency markets, the dollar was higher against both the yen and euro.  Top of page




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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.