Stocks look set to resume their selling at Wednesday’s open, as traders fret about the profit outlook in the months ahead. The worry comes on the heels of news that AT&T Wireless Services Inc. reported weak sales.

In other U.S. corporate news, DuPont reported a second-quarter profit. Halliburton posted a US$498 million loss in the quarter. And Amazon.com Inc. said that it would start expensing stock options.

On the economic front, foreign investors increased their holdings of Canadian securities by $1.9 billion in May, mainly through continued investment in Canadian bonds. And, Canadian investors slowed their purchases of foreign securities after three months of heavy buying. For the first time in 2002, foreign investors also acquired some Canadian equities. Foreign investors added $1.3 billion to their holdings of Canadian bonds in May, bringing their investment over the first five months of 2002 to $7.5 billion.

In Europe, stocks are thumping lower once again today. They fell after Siemens AG reported lower fourth-quarter earnings. ABB Ltd., Europe’s biggest electrical-engineering firm, plunged after it had a loss when a profit was expected. GlaxoSmithKline plc saw its profit rise 18% last quarter.

The FTSE is down 123 points to 3,735. The CAC 40 is off 94 points to 2,976. The DAX has dropped 150 points to 3,366.

Overnight in Asia, stock followed Wall Street lower once again. The Nikkei lost 268 points to 9,948. The Hang Seng fell 342 points to 9,972.

In business news, Emco Ltd., which yesterday cancelled an M&A deal with BC Gas, has decided to initiate a strategic alternatives review. This review is partially a result of the desire of Masco Corp. to monetize its investment in Emco. Masco owns approximately 42.1% of Emco.

In earnings news, for the second quarter, BCE Inc. reported total revenue of $4.9 billion, EBITDA of $1.9 billion, and net earnings of $11 million. Net earnings before non-recurring items were $400 million.

Slater Steel Inc. reported net earnings of $3.3 million, versus $3.5 million in the second quarter of 2001.

Stackpole’s net income increased 80% to $5 million in the second quarter 2002.

Nexfor Inc. announced that second quarter earnings improved to $17 million, up from $14 million in the quarter a year ago.

Pioneer reported net income of $11.1 million for the second quarter of 2002. Second quarter net income included a $2.8 million extraordinary charge related to the early extinguishments of debt, a $2.5 million noncash charge for the remeasurement of the Argentine peso-denominated net monetary assets and a $1.1 million gain on the sale of seismic data.

NOVA Chemicals reported a loss before unusual items for the second quarter of $19 million. This compares to a loss before unusual items of $66 million in the first quarter of 2002.