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Wall St. eyes comeback
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December 21, 2001: 7:42 a.m. ET
After a string of losses, investors show early signs of buying.
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Nasdaq composite index, trading near its lowest levels of the month, will try to snap a two-session losing streak early Friday as investors digest economic reports on consumer spending and confidence.
Early indications point to a slightly higher open for the major indexes.
After U.S. markets open a government report will give the details of consumer spending and personal income in November. The latest survey of consumer confidence is due shortly after trading begins.
The reports follow word from the government that the U.S. economy shrank 1.3 percent in the third quarter for its worst performance in more than a decade.
Consumer spending is expected to show a drop of 0.8 percent, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, as auto sales slowed from record levels in October. Personal income is forecast to gain 0.2 percent in the month.
The University of Michigan's final reading on consumer confidence in December is expected to stay unchanged at 85.8 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average starts the day just below the 10,000 level at 9,985.18 after losing 85.31 points Thursday. The Nasdaq composite index stands at 1,918.54 after tumbling nearly 65 points, or 3.3 percent, to its lowest point in nearly three weeks. The Standard & Poor's 500 is at 1,139.93 after losing almost 10 points.
Overseas, Asian markets followed the Nasdaq to close lower Friday, with dips posted in Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea. Warnings from insurer Zurich Financial and concerns over Argentina's financial crisis plagued European trading in the early going.
Treasury prices edged lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield rising to 5.06 percent from 5.04 percent Thursday. The dollar continued to gain against the yen and edged higher versus the euro. Brent oil futures rose 26 cents to $19.39 a barrel in London.
In after-market news Thursday, athletic apparel manufacturer Nike (NKE: Research, Estimates) ran past analysts' forecasts and year ago results when it reported fiscal second quarter net income of $129 million, or 48 cents a share. Shares of fell 82 cents to $53.79 Thursday.
Research in Motion (RIMM: Research, Estimates), the maker of the popular BlackBerry wireless device, cut revenue and earnings targets for the fiscal fourth quarter but maintained its guidance for fiscal 2003. Shares of the company slipped $1.55 to $19.75.
But Ron Hill, equity strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman, says the last quarter may be the bottom of the profit cycle.
"It looks like we may be on the way to recovery," Hill told CNNfn's Before Hours.
Investors have been making a similar bet, sending stocks higher since Sept. 21, when the market hit its low following the Sept. 11 attack. 
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