NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks fell for the second session in a row Wednesday, as investors took profits following weak earnings or forecasts from Ford, Motorola and Lucent, and continued ambivalence about Alan Greenspan's outlook for the economy.

Stocks looked toward a mixed start Thursday, following after-hour earnings from IBM that were in line with estimates, and Advanced Micro Devices, that were better than expected.

Thursday brings earnings from a huge slew of Dow stocks, with Altria (MO: Research, Estimates), Caterpillar (CAT: Research, Estimates), Coca-Cola (KO: Research, Estimates), General Motors (GM: Research, Estimates) and Honeywell (HON: Research, Estimates) all due before the open and Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) due after the close.

Weekly jobless claims, June housing starts and building permits, and the July reading on the Philadelphia Fed index are also all due.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average (down 34.38 to 9094.59, Charts) lost around 0.4 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 (down 6.33 to 994.09, Charts) index lost 0.6 percent, and the Nasdaq composite (down 5.24 to 1747.97, Charts) lost around 0.3 percent, according to preliminary reports. All the indexes had been considerably lower in the morning and early afternoon.

The move in the bond market also pulled investors away from stocks, analysts said, with the 10-year note yield hitting 4.0 percent in the early morning in response to the Fed chairman's mixed statements Tuesday and Wednesday.

A better-than-expected second-quarter profit report and forecast from Intel boosted that stock, but failed to spark a rally, with other heavyweight issues such as Ford and Motorola delivering ho-hum results and outlooks. A profit warning from Lucent added to the negative mood.

But all was not so glum. Sears was the top mover on the NYSE, gaining on news of the multibillion-dollar sale of its credit card holdings to Citigroup. In addition, selling pressure managed to ease by the close, with the major indexes finishing well off their lows.

Shortly after the close of trade, tech bellwether and Dow component IBM (IBM: up $0.30 to $86.74, Research, Estimates) reported earnings of 98 cents per share, in line with estimates and up from 89 cents a year ago. The company also said that it expects third-quarter results to meet analysts' current estimates. Much like with Intel, what the company has to say about information technology spending will be key for a variety of names in the tech sector. The stock fell in after-hours trade.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: up $0.04 to $7.32, Research, Estimates) reported a loss of 40 cents per share, narrower than expected and narrower than the loss it posted a year earlier on weak sales of mobile phones and computers in Asia following the SARS outbreak. Looking forward, the company said that although the spending environment remains uncertain, it expects third-quarter sales to increase. The stock edged up after hours.

Also after the close, Apple Computer (AAPL: up $0.26 to $19.87, Research, Estimates) reported a profit of 5 cents per share, 2 cents better than expected but down from the 9 cents it earned a year earlier.

Tomorrow's most-anticipated earnings report will be Microsoft. After the bell, the company is forecast to have earned 24 cents per share, up from 21 cents a year earlier, according to a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call.

Late Tuesday, Intel (INTC: up $1.21 to $25.31, Research, Estimates) delivered a second-quarter profit of 14 cents a share, above estimates and up from a year earlier, brought on by strength in its computer-related business and in its Asian business, despite the impact of the SARS outbreak. Intel also offered a third-quarter sales forecast that was better than analysts had been expecting.

Still, its chief financial officer said during the conference call following the earnings release that he did not see signs of a pickup in information technology spending after the two-year downturn. Nonetheless, the overall news was perceived as positive, sending shares of Intel up 5 percent, although it didn't seem to affect other techs.

"People are comforted by Intel, but it's unsurprising that they had a good quarter, so you're seeing a little sell on the news," said Peter Green, a market analyst at MKM Partners. "Market events get discounted more and more these days, and I think you're especially seeing that as we get into this period of digesting the earnings news."

Unfortunately for tech investors, poor forecasts from Motorola and Lucent watered down the Intel impact, sending the broader market lower.

Late Tuesday, Motorola (MOT: down $0.45 to $9.33, Research, Estimates) reported a profit of a penny a share, better than forecast but down from a year earlier, due to increased competition in the handset market. The company also warned that current-quarter results won't meet estimates. Shares fell 4.6 percent.

Lucent Technologies (LU: down $0.24 to $1.68, Research, Estimates) tumbled 12.5 percent after the company warned that third-quarter results will miss expectations due to weaker revenue from its wireless business. In addition, Standard & Poor's said it might cut its debt rating on Lucent, knocking it deeper into junk territory.

Investors also took in other earnings and non-earnings related news.

Early Wednesday, J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM: down $1.04 to $36.25, Research, Estimates) became the latest big bank to report stellar quarterly results. It made a profit of 89 cents per share in the second quarter, up from 50 cents a year earlier and much better than analysts were expecting. The Dow component's stock, however, lost 2.8 percent, within the broader market slide.

At the opposite end of the earnings strength scale, Ford (F: down $0.65 to $10.99, Research, Estimates) reported earnings of 22 cents per share, better than expected but down from a year earlier. The automaker also warned that current-quarter results won't meet analysts' forecasts. Its stock shed 5.6 percent.

On the upside, at midday, AMR (AMR: up $1.10 to $11.66, Research, Estimates) reported a narrower quarterly loss than analysts were expecting and versus the loss it reported a year earlier, propelling shares 10.4 percent higher and lifting other airline stocks.

Shares of Sears Roebuck (S: up $3.22 to $38.20, Research, Estimates) rallied more than 8 percent and topped the NYSE's most-active list after the firm said it is selling its credit card portfolio to Citigroup (C: down $1.31 to $45.52, Research, Estimates) for $6 billion. Citigroup shares lost nearly 3 percent, partly on the acquisition and partly on news that Chairman Sanford Weill will retire by the end of the year.

Market breadth was negative, with losers beating gainers by 11 to 5 on the New York Stock Exchange, where 1.65 billion shares traded, and by 9 to 7 on the Nasdaq, where volume reached 1.90 billion shares.

Wall Street also took in a second day of Capitol Hill testimony on the economy and monetary policy by Fed Chairman Greenspan. His statements Tuesday -- that more rate cuts will happen if needed and that the central bank does not fear deflation enough to step into the bond market and buy Treasurys outright -- sent stocks lower and bonds into one of their biggest selloffs this year.

But a retraction of sorts helped bonds briefly reverse course late in the morning. Treasurys turned higher after Greenspan said he did not exclude the possibility of unconventional Fed actions (such as direct Treasury purchases by the central bank) in his Tuesday testimony. The 10-year note's yield was down to 3.93 percent as its price gained 12/32 of a point. Earlier in the morning it had topped 4 percent briefly.

The dollar gained versus the yen and euro.

NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures fell 70 cents to $30.41 a barrel. COMEX gold rose $1 to $343.20 an ounce.