Stocks look set to open lower this morning thanks to profit worries and concerns about conflict in the Middle East.

The profit worries primarily stem from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., which missed analyst forecasts with its first quarter profit, and saw earnings fall to a five-year low.

The economic picture got a shock from initial jobless claims in the U.S., which jumped 64,000 to their highest level in four months. This is spooking traders who had forecast a quick, strong recovery. This is also hitting the U.S. dollar, as is the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Canada, the news is better, as the Help-wanted Index rose to 126 in March, up 1.6% from February. This is the first gain in 18 months.

Stocks are down this morning in Europe. Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged this morning. Nevertheless, the FTSE is down 42 points to 5,205. The CAC 40 has dropped 71 points to 4,561. The DAX is off by 33 points to 5,249.

Overnight in Asia, stocks closed down modestly. The Nikkei lost 21 points to close at 11,379. Weakness was evident after Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. said it will post a US$15 billion annual loss for 2001. The Hang Seng only dropped three points to 10,831.

In other news, Suncor Energy Inc. says that its earnings for the first quarter of 2002 are expected to be in the range of $80 million to $85 million.