Stocks look set to slide at the open Wednesday, on a combination of profit taking and negative corporate news.

The negative news is led by an earnings warning from Dow Chemical. Dow, which is the largest U.S. chemical maker, said higher raw material costs are going to hurt earnings. This is overwhelming news of positive sales guidance from Dell Computer Corp. after the bell last night.

The ongoing lockout of dockworkers all along the U.S. west coast finally has Wall Street’s attention. It is expected that the shutdown could spell billions in losses to the U.S. economy.

In Canada, the Help-wanted Index fell to 124.2 in September, down 2.1% from August. Decreases were recorded in all provinces; the largest declines were in British Columbia.

Stocks are mixed in Europe so far. Credit Suisse says that it will post a loss in the third quarter, after spending another US$1.3 billion into its insurance unit, Winterthur. Also, Italian bank, Capitalia SpA, is boosting loan losses, cutting jobs and planning to sell assets in a bid for profitability. Still there is strength in Pernod Ricard SA and some tech shares.

The FTSE is up 63 points to 3,861. The CAC 40 has gained 37 points to 2,865. And, the DAX is down 34 points to 2,832.

Overnight in Asia, stocks had a mixed session. The Nikkei continued its slide, dropping another 113 points to 9,049. However, the Hang Seng was swayed by the big U.S. rally, gaining 37 points to 9,109.

In M&A news, Adherex Technologies Inc. announced it has entered into an agreement to merge with Oxiquant Inc., a private U.S. pharmaceutical company developing a number of novel anti-cancer compounds. The new combined company will focus on developing anti-cancer therapeutics and it is anticipated that four compounds will be in clinical development during 2003. The transaction is an equal merger on a share for share basis between Adherex and Oxiquant.

And, Placer Dome Inc has extended its offer for AurionGold again to October 11.

In earnings news, ATI Technologies reported a net loss of $32.2 million, compared with a net loss of $2.0 million for the third quarter and a net loss of $11.6 million for the fourth quarter a year ago. The decline in sequential quarterly net income was largely a result of lower revenues and margins, the writedown of intangible assets related to the acquisitions of ArtX and Chromatic Research, and to a lesser extent the net writedown of long-term investments.

MAAX Inc. announced a 35.9% increase in comparable net income (before amortization of goodwill), up to $9.9 million, for its second quarter.