NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. stocks look set for a positive open Tuesday as investors divide their attention between a bullish forecast from Nokia and expectations of a record 11th interest rate cut this year by the Federal Reserve.
At 8:45 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq-100 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures point to a higher open for stocks.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a quarter percentage point drop in interest rates at 2:15 p.m. ET, but economists have questioned whether that would help, given last week's higher unemployment figure and 10 previous rate cuts that failed to keep the U.S. out of a recession.
Of greater interest to some could be the Fed's accompanying statement on the future outlook, which many expect to take a cautious tone, leaving the door open to further cuts in January.
The corporate news highlight comes from Nokia (NOK: Research, Estimates), the world's biggest mobile phone maker, which said it may beat its fourth-quarter earnings target as it sells more Web-enabled phones. Shares of Nokia gained $1.71 to $25.50 in before-hours trading Tuesday.
Investors also will be looking out for companies to provide fourth-quarter earnings guidance in the wake of Dow component General Electric's (GE: Research, Estimates) reaffirmation of fourth -quarter and full-year guidance, and raised forecasts at Delphi Automotive (DPH: Research, Estimates) and Cendant Corp. (CD: Research, Estimates)
In other economic news, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release figures on wholesale inventories for October at 10 a.m.
Asian stocks slid for the second consecutive day Tuesday, though drug stocks somewhat bolstered the benchmark Nikkei index. Europe's major bourses were mixed in midday trading.
Treasury prices were mixed early Tuesday, with the 10-year note down to 5.09 percent from 5.13 percent late Monday. The dollar strengthened against the yen and was mostly flat against the euro. Brent oil futures were down 4 cents to $18.32 a barrel in London.
Leading pharmaceutical firm Merck (MRK: Research, Estimates) said will lay out its plans to remain competitive despite slowing sales of key drugs. Company executives are expected to meet with industry analysts at its headquarters in Whitehouse Station, N.J., to outline company sales and earnings prospects for 2002 and describe products in its pipeline of experimental drugs. Merck shares lost 1 cent to 466.99 Monday.
Lehman Brothers downgraded McDonald's (MCD: Research, Estimates) to "market perform" from "strong buy," saying in its research note that "continued price discounting and more mad cow fears limit its earnings-per-share upside potential. The firm also lowered its price target on the company to $29 from $38. McDonald's shares gained 12 cents to $27.02 Monday.
ABN Amro cut its rating on automaker DaimlerChrysler (DCX: Research, Estimates) to "sell" from "reduce," citing a big run-up in the stock of as much as 50 percent since its September low. DaimlerChrysler shares lost $1.21 to $41.74 in trading Monday. 
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