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Wall Street eyes Iraq
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December 17, 1998: 7:18 a.m. ET
Investors to focus on air strike, oil prices as market opens
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Investors will be focused on the situation in Iraq and the price of oil when Wall Street opens Thursday.
The U.S. military strikes against Iraq boosted the dollar and oil prices in early European and Asian trade Thursday, but after a muted reaction in global equity, the dollar and commodity prices drifted lower.
The S&P futures were up 2 points Thursday, typically indicating a moderate opening on Wall Street.
(Click here for the latest S&P 500 futures quote)
The long bond, typically an investor safehaven, slipped from overnight highs. The benchmark 30-year Treasury bond was down 7/32 in price early Thursday for a yield of 5 percent.
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 35.53 points at 8,787.77. Declines led advances on the New York Stock Exchange 1,593 to 1,468 on trading volume of 719 million shares. The Nasdaq composite closed down 2.63 at 2,009.97.
Investors will likely keep a close eye on oil stocks, such as Exxon (XON), British Petroleum (BP) and Chevron (CHV), as oil prices continue to fluctuate.
Among the other stocks expected to be the most active:
Chase Manhattan Corp. (CMB), which announced Wednesday it will substantially exceed analysts' consensus earnings estimates for the fourth quarter and the year. Chase was up 2-3/4 Wednesday to 63-1/2.
Adobe (ADBE) reported record revenue for the fourth quarter ending Nov. 27, but noted that licensing revenue -- a key statistic closely watched by software analysts -- had declined from last year. Adobe dropped 2-31/64 to 38-9/64.
Car-rental giant Avis (AVI) said chairman and chief executive officer R. Craig Hoenshell would step aside to serve as an advisor. Avis finished Monday up 1/8 at 21-3/8.
Nike Inc. (NKE), the world's biggest maker of athletic shoes and clothing, is expected to report second quarter earnings of 22 cents per share for the period ended Nov. 30, based on the average estimate analysts polled by First Call. The company earned 48 cents a share a year earlier. Nike was up 5/8 at 42.
Also due out Thursday are the initial jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 12. The consensus estimate is 315,000, while the prior report was 314,000.
European markets saw oil stocks rise early Thursday, while trading overall was fairly quite, as investors played the waiting game, wary of taking any big steps. Asian markets were also fairly quiet as analysts tried to gauge the impact of the air strikes. 
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