Stocks poised for weak open as G-20 starts

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to open lower Thursday, with particular weakness among technology issues after Cisco Systems issued a disappointing forecast.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) were all lower ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks ended higher Wednesday, after spending most of the session in the red, as the dollar slipped from an earlier rally. But the gains were tepid as investors remained jittery as a gathering of the major nations gets underway in South Korea.

The stakes are high, especially as the European sovereign debt crisis once again moves to center stage.

"Most important of all is that there is some cooperation and it doesn't degenerate into a kind of cross-border row," said Ken Wattret, chief eurozone market economist at BNP Paribas in London. "It is important that currency wars don't turn into trade wars, at a time of great economic uncertainty."

While stocks managed gains Wednesday, the market has drifted lower following last week's run-up.

All three major indexes closed at two-year highs last Friday after the U.S. midterm elections and the Federal Reserve's announcement of a $600 billion asset purchase plan. But now that the highly anticipated news has hit, the markets have resumed their day-to-day churning.

Economy: The two-day G-20 summit got underway in Seoul, South Korea, where world leaders including President Obama convened. The heads of major economies were expected to discuss recent currency tensions, as well as other global economic challenges and regulations.

In Seoul, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner pushed back against an op-ed in the Financial Times written by former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan that suggested the U.S. was pursuing a policy of currency weakening.

"The United States of America will never do that," Geithner told CNBC. "We will never seek to weaken our currency as a tool to gain competitive advantage or grow the economy."

World markets: European stocks were moved lower in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.3%, the DAX in Germany was little changed, and France's CAC 40 dipped 0.6%.

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite gained 1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ticked up 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei was up 0.3%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar strengthened against the euro, and the Japanese yen, but fell against the British pound.

Oil for December delivery gained 21 cents to $88.03 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $9.30 to $1,409.20 an ounce.

Companies: Shares of Cisco (CSCO, Fortune 500) were down more than 10% in premarket trading after the company revealed a cautious outlook in its quarterly earnings report after the market's close on Wednesday.

Before the opening bell, media conglomerate Viacom (VIAB, Fortune 500) reported earnings that topped analyst expectations, after excluding write-downs at its Harmonix video game division, which it plans to sell. Shares of Viacom moved higher in premarket trading.

Earnings from rival Walt Disney (DIS, Fortune 500), which are due after the closing bell, are also forecast to stay flat from a year earlier, at 46 cents per share, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

General Electric (GE, Fortune 500) announced before the bell it will buy 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015, beginning with about 12,000 Chevy Volts in 2011. GE shares were little changed in premarket trading.

Treasury markets, government offices and some banks are closed Thursday in observance of Veterans Day, but all other financial markets are open.