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Wall Street seen mixed, techs in focus after Cisco


    FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a mixed opening on Thursday ahead of a slew of earnings and with technology stocks in focus after Cisco Systems' grim outlook fuelled recession fears.

    By 5:21 a.m. EST March Dow Jones , S&P futures were up 0.1 to 0.2 percent each while Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1 percent.

    The indicative Dow Jones index was down 0.2 percent.

    European shares were down 0.8 percent, mainly due to weaker technology stocks.

    "Confidence is shot to ribbons and sentiment is on the whole negative," David Buik, a market commentator at Cantor Index in London, said in a note.

    Tech stocks are in focus after Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers late on Wednesday gave a disappointing outlook and warned of a rapid slowdown in U.S. and European orders.

    The news spurred an after-hours sell-off in other big techs, including Apple and Intel , and may lead to further declines in the sector today. Cisco fell almost 10 percent in Frankfurt, mirroring after-hours U.S. losses.

    Germany chipmaker Infineon added fuel to the fire on Thursday as it reported weak first-quarter results and disappointed investors with its outlook. Infineon shares dropped more than 12 percent in Europe.

    Investors will also keep a close eye on earnings updates from Moody's , Pepsico and International Paper Co among others. In addition, many retailers will be reporting same-store sales.

    Major U.S. economic indicators set for release include weekly initial jobless claims at 8:30 a.m. EST and December pending home sales at 10 a.m. EST.

    U.S. stock indexes fell on Wednesday for a third straight session after Federal Reserve officials cast doubt on the outlook for more interest rate cuts.

    Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Wednesday that the Fed must remain vigilant against rising inflation pressure this year even as the U.S. economy slows sharply.

    The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.53 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 0.76 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 1.33 percent.

    After the bell shares of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines rose on a Wall Street Journal report that a deal between the two carriers could be announced next week.

    (Reporting by Eva Kuehnen; Editing by Louise Ireland)