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CNN Live At Daybreak
International Market Update: European Stocks
Aired June 24, 2003 - 05:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to check the overseas markets and get a heads up on what Wall Street might expect.
For that, let's head live to London and Todd Benjamin.
Good morning -- Todd.
TODD BENJAMIN, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Right now the futures markets pointing to a rather flat open on Wall Street. No real surprise. You know yesterday was a down day. We saw some pretty heavy profit taking across the board on the back of a profit warning from Tenant Health Care and some disappointment from Unilever, the big food products consumer giant.
Right now the FTSE is down about a half percent, the DAX is down about a half percent, the CAC is off about a half percent and the SMI in Zurich is flat.
The Fed meeting, of course, the big focus for the markets. They start that two-day meeting today. We'll get the verdict tomorrow. And the general thinking is that the Fed will cut. The only question is by how much. Several economists are saying a quarter point; other economists are saying a half point. Interest rates, of course, are already at lows we haven't seen in more than 40 years. The Fed Funds Rate just at 1.25 percent, so they don't have much more to go before they get to zero.
And the other big factor today for the markets, Carol, want to mention this very quickly, is consumer confidence. You know we hit nearly a 9-year low in March, of course worries over Iraq, the uncertainty there before the war, and then it snapped back sharply the following two months. And now we may give back a little. That's the general view of economists. We'll see if they're right. They think there are some concerns about rising unemployment. Of course the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent.
Back to you. Have a great morning.
COSTELLO: You too. Thank you, Todd Benjamin, live from London this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 24, 2003 - 05:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time to check the overseas markets and get a heads up on what Wall Street might expect.
For that, let's head live to London and Todd Benjamin.
Good morning -- Todd.
TODD BENJAMIN, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Right now the futures markets pointing to a rather flat open on Wall Street. No real surprise. You know yesterday was a down day. We saw some pretty heavy profit taking across the board on the back of a profit warning from Tenant Health Care and some disappointment from Unilever, the big food products consumer giant.
Right now the FTSE is down about a half percent, the DAX is down about a half percent, the CAC is off about a half percent and the SMI in Zurich is flat.
The Fed meeting, of course, the big focus for the markets. They start that two-day meeting today. We'll get the verdict tomorrow. And the general thinking is that the Fed will cut. The only question is by how much. Several economists are saying a quarter point; other economists are saying a half point. Interest rates, of course, are already at lows we haven't seen in more than 40 years. The Fed Funds Rate just at 1.25 percent, so they don't have much more to go before they get to zero.
And the other big factor today for the markets, Carol, want to mention this very quickly, is consumer confidence. You know we hit nearly a 9-year low in March, of course worries over Iraq, the uncertainty there before the war, and then it snapped back sharply the following two months. And now we may give back a little. That's the general view of economists. We'll see if they're right. They think there are some concerns about rising unemployment. Of course the unemployment rate is 6.1 percent.
Back to you. Have a great morning.
COSTELLO: You too. Thank you, Todd Benjamin, live from London this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
