By JONAH KERI, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 09:06 AM ET
9:15 a.m. Update: The major indexes lost ground ahead of Monday's opening bell, as a rising dollar pressured commodities prices. S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq 100 futures were all trading modestly lower.
KMG Chemicals (KMGB) reported a nearly threefold surge in quarterly profit for its fiscal first quarter. The maker of specialty chemicals and wood preservatives fell 12% on Friday ahead of its quarterly report.
Digital China, a Hong Kong-listed IT company, will distribute Research In Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry handsets. Research In Motion aims to expand its product reach into mainland China.
The Treasury Department reportedly plans to wait before selling its 34% stake in Citigroup (C). Citigroup and regulators are working on a plan to repay the $45 billion received in bailout money first.
The stronger dollar continued to weigh on commodities prices. January crude oil fell 63 cents to $74.84 a barrel. Gold prices slumped $26 to $1,143 an ounce.
Futures Mixed As Dollar Rises
BY VANCE CARIAGA
8:15 a.m. Update: Stock futures pointed to a mixed open Monday as Wall Street kept an eye on the rising dollar. S&P 500 futures fell 2 points in the pre-market but were above fair value. Dow futures slipped 20 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 8 points.
Stocks rallied on Friday after the Labor Department's jobs report came in stronger than expected. Employers cut 11,000 jobs in November, much fewer than forecast. And the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell. The Nasdaq rose 1%, the S&P 500 0.6%, the NYSE composite 0.5% and the Dow 0.2%.
On Monday, the dollar rose to a five-week high against the euro, sending commodities prices tumbling. Meanwhile, treasuries rebounded from a sharp sell-off last week, pushing yields lower.
The dollar strengthened ahead of comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is scheduled to speak before the Economic Club of Washington at 12:45 p.m. EST. As the economy improves, investors expect the Fed might start to raise interest rates and withdraw some of its support measures.
The Obama administration on Sunday said the government will lose $200 billion less than expected from the federal bailout program. It might use part of the savings to fund new job creation efforts. A Treasury official said the cost of the financial rescue program will be at least $200 billion below the $341 billion estimate it made in August.
Bayer and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) have ruled out delivering data this year that was requested by U.S. regulators on the companies' anti-blood-clotting pill, Xarelto. The two firms are said to be playing it safe for the potential blockbuster's largest market.
Elsewhere, gold prices fell $26 to $1,143 an ounce. Oil prices lost 58 cents to $74.89 a barrel in electronic pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.44% early Monday from 3.48% late Friday.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.8%. In afternoon trade, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.5%, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC-40 both fell 0.4%.
