Wall Street set for weak open
Futures decline as Morgan Stanley, FedEx earnings tumble; crude supplies report on deck.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock futures fell Wednesday morning, following mixed earnings news from Morgan Stanley and FedEx and ahead of a key report on crude oil inventories.
At 8:25 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower, suggesting a negative open for Wall Street.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) reported second quarter earnings of 95 cents per share, down 57.5% from last year, while net revenues fell 38% to $6.5 billion.
Analysts were expecting the company to report earnings of 92 cents per share and revenues of 7.05 million, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Delivery company FedEx (FDX, Fortune 500), which is considered a barometer of economic activity, posted a quarterly loss of $241 million, or 78 cents per share, on soaring fuel costs. That's down from a year-ago profit of $610 million, or $1.96 per share. Excluding one-time charges, FedEx said it earned $1.45 per share.
The company was expected to report earnings of $1.47 per share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose 91 cents to $134.92 a barrel in electronic trading ahead of the government's weekly report on fuel supplies.
Analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts expect the report, due out at 10:35 a.m. ET, to show crude stocks shrank 2 million barrels last week. Gasoline supplies are forecast to rise 950,000 barrels and supplies of distillates, used to make heating oil and diesel fuel, are expected to increase 1.8 million barrels.
Concerns about the health of financial firms, along with economic worries, sent the blue-chip Dow tumbling more than 100 points, or about 0.9%, Tuesday.
Companies to watch include:
Top executives at DreamWorks (DWA) are close to a deal with one of India's biggest entertainment conglomerates, Reliance ADA Group, to form a new movie venture, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The deal would provide DreamWorks, co-founded by Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, with $500 million to $600 million in equity, which the company could use to finance its departure from Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) Paramount Pictures later this year, according to the Journal.
Northwest Airlines (NWA, Fortune 500) said late Tuesday it will cut its capacity later this year by 3% to 4% because of high fuel prices. The airline also said it will try to shrink its staff through voluntary severance but layoffs are possible.
The reductions were sharper than those announced in April, though they're smaller than cuts announced by many other airlines.
Retail investment firm TD Ameritrade (AMTD) said late Tuesday it expects third-quarter earnings to be near the high end of expectations. The company reports earnings July 17.
Pfizer Inc. (PFE, Fortune 500) and Indian generic drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. said they have settled a patent dispute over the blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor and have agreed to delay the release of generic versions in the U.S. market until Nov 2011.
In global trade, stocks in Asia advanced for the fourth straight day. European markets tumbled in midday trading. 
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