Stocks are looking flat this morning, thanks to ongoing profit worries. The telecoms are facing most of concerns so far today. However, many traders may stay on hold today, ahead of the U.S. interest rate decision scheduled for tomorrow.

Falling crude oil prices will be affecting trading to day, too. Iraq says it is abandoning its barely-noticed embargo. But despite the gloom Against this nervousness is the news that ASML Holding NV, the biggest semiconductor-equipment maker in Europe, is saying that the semiconductor industry will bounce back this year.

On the economic front, the phenomenal demand for new housing in Canada cooled only slightly in March. Builders continued to gobble up residential building permits. Contractors took out $2.4 billion in permits for housing in March, down 1.2% from the highest monthly record in February. Permits for single-family housing accounted for three-quarters of the total. Housing permits reached $7.2 billion for the first three months of 2002, up 30.0% from the same period a year earlier, Statistics Canada reports. Nearly 53,000 new dwellings were authorized in the period, the highest quarterly level since the first quarter of 1990.

In Europe, stocks are generally up, lifted by ASML’s optimism. The FTSE is up 29 points to 5203. The CAC 40 has added 26 points to 4381. The DAX has gained 30 points to 4912.

Overnight in Asia, markets slipped. The Japanese market was closed for another holiday. The Hang Seng dropped 61 points though to 11736.