NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
U.S. stocks are set to open lower Wednesday after the end of a bid for media conglomerate Walt Disney Co. and a further slide in demand for mortgage refinancing.
Futures, which were already lower, fell further following the announcement by cable operator Comcast that it was withdrawing its unsolicited $48 billion bid it made for Disney in February.
The cable company also reported earnings per share of 3 cents, an improvement from a loss of 13 cents a year earlier but short of the forecast of 7 cents made by analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call.
A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association of a further decline in refinancing also helped to depress futures. Refinancings had been significantly higher a month ago, when mortgage rates were near a 40-year low, and the liquidity it provided homeowners had been seen as supporting consumer spending.
Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates), the world's No. 2 commercial aircraft manufacturer, is forecast to earn 44 cents a share, up from 42 cents a year earlier. The Chicago-based company, which lost its lead last year to Airbus Industrie, announced a $6 billion launch order for its new 7E7 passenger jet earlier this week.
Shares of Boeing, a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, rose more than 1 percent in European trading Wednesday.
Earnings for Halliburton (HAL: Research, Estimates), under scrutiny for its contracts to provide services in Iraq as well as its ties to Vice President Dick Cheney, its former CEO, rose to 31 cents a share, excluding special items, from 12 cents a year earlier, beating EPS forecasts by a penny. Halliburton shares climbed 77 cents to $31.67 in Tuesday trading.
Comcast (CMCSA: Research, Estimates), the nation's largest cable television operator that made a bid for media conglomerate Walt Disney, is expected to report a profit of 7 cents a share; the company lost 13 cents a share a year earlier. Comcast shares gained 12 cents to $29.97 in Tuesday trading.
Drugmaker Wyeth (WYE: Research, Estimates) fell $1.27 to $38 in after-hours trading on Instinet on Tuesday following a $1 billion jury verdict against the company in a case involving a Texas woman who died after using one of the drugs in the fen-phen diet drug regimen. The company said it plans to appeal the verdict.
The Dow Jones industrial average managed a 0.3 percent gain in choppy trading Tuesday, while the Nasdaq composite index was down by 0.2 percent. (See chart for details)
Weakness in tech issues hurt most Asian-Pacific stock markets Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index down 0.3 percent. European markets retreated in early trade. (Check the latest on world markets)
Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) rose 1 percent. The fast-food slinger, a Dow component, posted 56-percent-higher first-quarter earnings after the market close Tuesday that brought it in line with expectations.
Treasury prices fell in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.40 percent from 4.38 late Tuesday. The dollar pulled back against the yen but was higher versus the euro.
Brent oil futures slipped 12 cents to $34.16 a barrel in London, where gold was lower.
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