Stocks are facing another weak opening Wednesday. Profit worries seem to be driving the negative sentiment.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. issued an earnings warning last night, hitting its own stock along with other big banks and brokers. Bad telecom loans seem to be the big culprit. Against this, Bear Stearns reported its profit rose 22% last quarter.

Oracle Corp. also issued a warning, saying that sales would be weaker than expected. But Eastman Kodak Co. said its third quarter will beat expectations.

Another weak spot is Hershey Foods Corp., which has scrapped its plans to sell itself amid opposition from its local community.

In other news, OPEC has decided to leave its current output quotas unchanged.

In the U.S., the Consumer Price Index was reported up 0.3% on both the headline and core rates. Some economists see a bit of inflation as a good sign, since the U.S. has been at the risk of seeing deflation according to recent data.

Also, the U.S. trade gap narrowed to US$34.6 billion in July. Higher exports of cars and other items helped pulled the gap a little tighter.

Canadian merchandise exports recorded their largest gain in more than a year in July, all a result of a surge in exports to the U.S. Exports jumped 3.4% and imports rose a marginal 0.2%, resulting in a rebound in Canada’s merchandise trade surplus with the world to just under $4.9 billion, up from a revised $3.8 billion in June. The forestry products sector alone regained more than a quarter of the value it lost in June in exports south of the border.

In Europe, stocks are down on worries over economic growth and profit performance. The FTSE is down another 100 points to 3,924. The CAC 40 has dropped 62 ticks to 3,050. The DAX is off by 105 points to 3,184.

Overnight in Asia, stocks were weaker there too. The Nikkei dropped 72 points to 9,472. And, the Hang Seng shed 233 points to 9,474.

In other business news, Celestica Inc. issued a big earnings warning. It said that the company now expects revenue in the range of US$1.9 to US$2 billion, down from previous estimates of US$2.1 to US$2.4 billion. And, it sees adjusted net earnings per share of US18¢ — US22¢, down from a range of US26¢ to US33¢.

Also, NOVA Chemicals announced that it intends to idle its expandable polystyrene units in the U.K., starting in late October, as part of the company’s campaign to reshape its styrenics business and improve its financial performance.

In M&A news, Wescam announced today that it is being bought by L-3 Communications for $188 million, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2002. L-3 Communications’ offer price of $9.50 per share represents a premium of 45% over Wescam’s closing price yesterday.

Wescam also announced fiscal 2002 third quarter results. It recorded a net loss of $1.6 million, versus net earnings of $2.2 million for the same quarter last year.