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 The outlooks underscored a worrisome notion that the economy could show a more prolonged slowdown than some had expected.
Wall Street is awaiting quarterly reports from names like ConocoPhillips, Motorola Inc. and PepsiCo Inc. due early Thursday.
Investors awaiting another onslaught of quarterly numbers are also keeping watch for some of the week's most notable economic figures. Among the data, the Commerce Department is expected to report that sales of new homes fell in March and weigh in with findings on sales of durable goods
-- big-ticket items like refrigerators, cars and computers.
But early Thursday investors appeared to focus on the lackluster outlooks issued by Apple and Amazon. Apple released a third-quarter profit forecast that missed Wall Street's forecast, while Amazon predicted lower operating income than investors expected.
Their forecasts, delivered after the closing bell Wednesday, touched off unease over the prospects for the consumer. With consumer spending accounting for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, a slowdown among retailers could portend further pain on Wall Street.
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 Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 49, or 0.38 percent, to 12,699. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 6.50, or 0.47 percent, to 1,372.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures declined 8.50, or 0.45 percent, to 1,897.00.
Bond prices showed little change. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, stood flat at 3.74 percent from late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.28 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.92 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 0.92 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.38 percent.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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