Stocks poised for losses
Futures decline on Cisco's conservative outlook, surging oil prices.
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures declined early Wednesday after the previous session's rally as investors reacted to a cautious outlook from tech giant Cisco Systems.
At 5:17 a.m. ET, S&P futures were lower and pointing to a negative start for Wall Street.
Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) reported sales and earnings that exceeded analysts' expectations after the close Monday, but the tech bellwether issued a conservative sales outlook.
Oil futures held near $122 a barrel in electronic trading. The front-month crude contract rose to a new trading high near $123 a barrel in the previous session.
Companies to watch Wednesday include Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). Chairman Bill Gates told reporters in Tokyo that the company isn't considering other deals after withdrawing its takeover offer for Yahoo.
Sprint (S, Fortune 500) and Clearwire are expected to announce the formation of a joint venture for the high-speed wireless network WiMax. The venture could involve a number of tech titans, including Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) and Google (GOOG, Fortune 500).
Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) posted quarterly results after the market close Tuesday that topped expectations and suggested the entertainment giant isn't getting hit by the economic slowdown.
In global trade, Asian markets ended lower. European stocks rose in early trading. 
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