Swearing at stocks?

[notiCIas]

Swearing at stocks?

Sony warning, weaker than forecast results from eBay, Qualcomm hit U.S. stock futures early.

January 20, 2005: 6:42 AM EST



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Weaker than expected results from some leading tech companies could continue the slide in U.S. stocks early Thursday, with Wall Street preparing to watch President Bush get inaugurated for a second term.

U.S. stock futures were lower early, following a warning from Sony (Research) early Thursday and disappointing earnings and revenue guidance online auction site eBay (Research) and cell phone technology provider Qualcomm (Research) after the market close Wednesday.

Shares of eBay fell 12 percent in after-hours trading following its report that showed it missing fourth quarter forecasts, while Qualcomm shares lost more than 6 percent despite beating forecasts for the just completed quarter.

The warning from Sony and other techs helped send major Asian markets lower in Thursday trading. Major European markets were also lower in early trading. Major U.S. stock indexes all closed lower in trading Wednesday.

Oil prices fell in early trading following the U.S. fuel inventory report late Wednesday that showed greater supplies than expected.. The light crude contract fell 78 cents to $46.77 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude lost 61 cents to $44.10.

Bond prices fell in early trading, as the yield on the 10-year treasury rose to 4.20 percent from 4.17 percent late Wednesday. The dollar gained versus the euro and the yen.

The only economic report due Thursday morning is the Conference Board's reading on leading economic indicators in December. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the 10 a.m. ET report should show a 0.2 percent increase, the same as the rise posted in November.

Wall Street will be paying attention when Bush takes the oath of office at noon ET, as his inauguration sets the tone for the next four years. (Click here for CNN.com coverage)

Dow component Citigroup (Research) reported a better than expected gain in earnings and announced it was raising its dividend.

Other companies due to report results early Thursday include Ford Motor (Research), the nation's No. 2 automaker which is expected to see earnings fall, and telecom AT&T (Research), which is forecast to see its first year-over-year rise in earnings in six quarters.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Federated Department Stores (Research) is in preliminary talks to buy rival May Department Stores (Research). Federated owns several well-known chains, including Macy's and Bloomingdales, while May owns Marshall Field's and Lord & Taylor.