NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Nasdaq will try to extend its winning streak to four days Friday as investors start to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting while keeping an eye out for more earnings warnings.
The markets looked poised to open flat to lower. S&P and Nasdaq 100 futures edged lower taking fair value into account, pointing to a down start for Wall Street.
The Nasdaq starts at 2,058.76 after rising 1.4 percent Thursday, its third straight gain. The Dow Jones industrial average stands at 10,715.43 after gaining 68 points, while the S&P 500 begins at 1,237.04 after rising 1.1 percent.
Asian stocks ended mostly higher while tech stocks boosted European markets in morning trading.
Treasurys were mixed early Friday, with the yield on the 10-year note edging down to 5.17 percent and the 30-year bond yield little changed at 5.64 percent. The dollar fell against the Japanese yen but edged higher against the euro. Oil for August delivery rose in London trading.
The Fed is expected to cut interest rates for the sixth time this year at its two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, but the size of the cut is the subject of hot debate: most economists expect only a quarter percentage point, though a few say another half-point cut is in the cards. The central bank has already cut rates five times, each a half-point reduction, in a bid to boost the economy and prevent a recession in the United States.
While there no major economic or earnings reports due Friday, there were warnings Thursday evening from a number of well known companies, including security software provider Symantec Corp. and shoe and apparel retailer Kenneth Cole.
Symantec (SYMC: Research, Estimates) said its first-quarter sales would fall short of expectations due to weak spending around the world and negative foreign currency effects. The company now sees earnings of 39 and 47 cents a share for its fiscal first quarter, as compared to the previous forecast of 62 to 67 cents, and year-ago EPS of 60 cents. Its shares plunged $16.29 to $45.02 in after-hours trading, after closing regular trading up $3.24 for the day.
Cole (KCP: down $2.10 to $23.70, Research, Estimates) said it expects to earn 17 to19 cents a share for the latest quarter, well below the 33 cents Wall Street forecast. Its shares lost $3.90 to $19.80 in after-hours trading on top of its regular-hours loss of $2.10.
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 PROFIT WARNINGS
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2Q 2001: 550*
1Q 2001: 935
2Q 2000: 324
*to date
(source: First Call)
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In addition, Micron Technology reported fiscal third-quarter results that fell far short of Wall Street forecasts after the bell Thursday, hurt by a sharp decline in prices. Micron Technology (MU: Research, Estimates) rose 87 cents to $37.71 during Thursday's session.
United Parcel Service (UPS: up $0.96 to $57.29, Research, Estimates) won a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that could save it from paying a disputed $2.4 billion tax bill. The court found that the world's largest transportation company had not revamped the insurance program it offered customers on their packages' excess value in order to avoid taxes. Shares of UPS gained 96 cents to $57.29 in regular-hours activity.
Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reported that Dime Bancorp (DME: up $1.35 to $38.08, Research, Estimates), New York's largest savings and loan which last year fought off an unsolicited offer from North Fork Bancorp. (NFB: up $2.01 to $32.00, Research, Estimates), is in discussions about being acquired by Washington Mutual (WM: up $0.09 to $39.39, Research, Estimates), the nation's largest thrift. The deal could be worth $5 billion. 
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