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Wall St. looks forward
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September 19, 2001: 8:56 a.m. ET
Quarterly financial results, economic health may draw focus away from attacks
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. equity indexes were poised to open higher Wednesday as investors' focus was drawn away from the attacks against the United States and toward the future of the economy, through the release of corporate results and outlook as well as the Fed's assessment of the economy.
Futures pointed to a higher open. The Nasdaq-100 futures rose more than 1 percent, a sign the Nasdaq market will start with a solid gain. Standard & Poor's futures advanced more modestly, signaling that the S&P 500 and Dow Jones industrial average will trend higher when trading begins.
Some investors may find reassurance in the fact that Tuesday was relatively uneventful for stocks. A mid-afternoon rally faded late in the session, leaving the major indexes lower. But there was nothing like the large-scale selloff that occurred Monday, when the markets reopened after being closed four days due to the attack.
The Dow begins the day at 8,903.40 after dropping 17 points Tuesday. The Nasdaq composite index stands at 1,555.08 following a 24-point decline, while the S&P 500 is at 1,032.74 after a 6-point slip.
Asian markets finished higher Wednesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index closing up for the second straight day. European stocks opened with gains.
The dollar was modestly weaker against both the euro and the yen. Brent oil futures fell 36 cents to $26.91 a barrel in London. Treasurys were mixed.
Dow component Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) could be active after announcing late Tuesday it will cut between 20,000 and 30,000 jobs by the end of next year. The aircraft manufacturer's move is in response to the schedule cutbacks by the major airlines after four passenger jets were hijacked in last week's terrorist attack. Boeing shares fell 58 cents to $32.56 in before-hours trading Wednesday after declining $2.66 in Tuesday trading.
The world's largest maker of photographic products, Eastman Kodak (EK: Research, Estimates), said it won't meet third-quarter earnings estimates and that it will need to eliminate jobs in order to cut costs. Kodak shares fell $2.83 to $37 in before-hours trading Wednesday.
Graphics software maker Adobe Systems (ADBE: down $0.15 to $30.10, Research, Estimates) posted a sharply lower fiscal third-quarter profit of 28 cents a share that was in line with Wall Street expectations. The company also lowered its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter before taking into the account the impact of last week's attack. Adobe shares fell $2.10 to $28 in before-hours trading Wednesday.
Due after the bell is the quarterly report from networking systems provider 3Com (COMS: Research, Estimates). Its fiscal first-quarter loss is expected to have widened to 35 cents a share from 12 cents a year earlier. Shares of 3Com rose 4 cents to $3.49 Tuesday.
The Federal Reserve issues its beige book, an assessment of the economy on a regional basis. The report, due at 2 p.m. ET, could give an indication of how much the attacks against New York and Washington will dislocate an economy already teetering on the edge of recession.
The nation's trade gap shrank to $28.83 billion in July from a revised $29.07 billion in June, the Commerce Department reported. Economists polled by Briefing.com had expected the deficit to swell to $29.6 billion.
Activity in the markets will be muted by the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year holiday. 
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