Stocks look set to fall on the open this morning, as profit sentiment slides today, and traders look to give back gains from yesterday’s rally.

Techs are leading the way down after Qualcomm Inc. reported a fourth-quarter loss yesterday. Also, both Aetna Inc. and Marsh & McLennan reported weak results.

This negative sentiment comes even with the release of positive economic news. U.S. third-quarter productivity was reported up at a 2.7% annual rate, even as the economy is in recession.

In Europe, stocks are down, led by financials. Barclays plc is sliding after HSBC analysts dropped its recommendation on the firm.

The FTSE is down 28 points to 5,186. The CAC 40 is off 24 points to 4,437. The DAX is up 53 points to 4,760.

Overnight in Asia, markets sold off heavily on fears that the U.S. rally was overdone and fear inspired by the possible scuttling of the Compaq-HP merger.

The Nikkei dropped 345 points last night to 10,285. The Hang Seng shed 86 points to 10,270.

In other news, Waste Management Inc. has agreed to pay US$457 million to settle a class action filed in July 1999 alleging violations of federal securities laws.

Merrill Lynch & Co. is said to be selling its Canadian brokerage operations in part of its worldwide cost-cutting efforts. The news comes just weeks after the firm pledged to stay in Canada this time around.

In other news, Saputo Inc. is reporting that its net earnings rose to $41.5 million for the past quarter, up from $31.3 million for the corresponding quarter the previous fiscal year.

Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation saw a net loss of $5.36 million during the third quarter compared with $2.98 million for the same quarter last year.