NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Chip-related stocks, which were enjoying a strong start to the new year, look set to slip early Wednesday after Intel said it would spend less money on semiconductor equipment in 2003.

After the closing bell, No. 1 chipmaker Intel reported a fourth-quarter profit that topped forecasts. But the company said its capital spending for 2003 is expected to fall to between $3.5 billion and $3.9 billion from $4.7 billion in 2002.

"The Street was expecting $4 billion, so on the capital spending front it was a disappointment," Eric Rothdeutsch, a semiconductor analyst at Friedman, Billings Ramsey, told CNNfn's Money and Markets.

Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) was little changed in late trading after ending the regular session at $17.79. But chip equipment suppliers fell, including Applied Materials (AMAT: Research, Estimates), which lost 59 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $14.77, KLA Tencor (KLAC: Research, Estimates), which slipped $1.32, or 3.3 percent, to $38.33, and Novellus (NVLS: Research, Estimates), which declined $1.10, or 3.3 percent, to $32.30.

The losses could weigh on the Nasdaq composite index, which after another gain Tuesday is up 9 percent on the year. The Dow is 5 percent higher in 2003.

Coming off a dismal year, the chip equipment industry needs every revenue dollar it can get. Last year, industry sales fell by 32 percent, according to one estimate. Applied Materials, the largest chip equipment maker, saw its stock drop 35 percent last year.

In economic data, the Producer Price index, the government's gauge of inflation before it hits consumers, is due before the market opens Wednesday. The PPI expected to have gained 0.3 percent in December, according to the consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com, following a 0.4 percent decline in November.

November business inventories are seen gaining 0.1 percent following a 0.2 percent gain in October. Both economic numbers come before the market opens.

Also early Wednesday, Bank of America (BAC: Research, Estimates), Continental Air (CAL: Research, Estimates) and Fannie Mae (FNM: Research, Estimates) report quarterly results. After the bell comes Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates), Redback Networks (RBAK: Research, Estimates) and Genentech (DNA: Research, Estimates).  

-- Reuters contributed to this report