Tech worries pressure Nasdaq

After a three-day winning streak, the Nasdaq may fall. A long list of technology companies delivered disappointing news Thursday after the market closed.

Hopes for the Federal Reserve's meeting next week may help the index hold on to some of its gains, however. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates for the sixth time this year at its two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, though the size of the cut is unknown. Most economists are predicting only a quarter percentage point, though some say another half-point cut could be made.

Stocks to Watch
• Symantec joined the list of companies issuing warnings. The software maker said it expects fiscal first-quarter earnings, excluding items, of 39 cents to 47 cents a share, down from a previous forecast of 62 cents to 67 cents. That could be bad news for other makers of computer-security software, such as Internet Security Systems and Network Associates, which also fell in after-hours trading.

•  CyberOptics said it would report a loss instead of earnings. The maker of sensors for semiconductor equipment companies said it expects a second-quarter loss of 5 cents to 8 cents a share. It had previously forecast earnings of 2 cents to 7 cents.

•  Tektronix, a maker of test and measurement equipment for computer and semiconductor companies, also warned. The company said fiscal first-quarter sales will decline 15 percent to 20 percent from a year ago, as demand dwindles.

•  Micron Technology was one of many companies that reported disappointing earnings Thursday night. The maker of PC memory chips said it had a fiscal third-quarter loss, from continuing operations, of 50 cents a share. The company was expected to lose 15 cents according to the consensus estimate by First Call.

•  Manugistics Group reported a mixed quarter. The software maker said its fiscal first-quarter loss widened to 35 cents a share because of acquisition-related costs. Excluding those costs, the company reported adjusted net income for the quarter ended May 31 of $2.2 million, or 3 cents a share, compared with a loss of $800,000, or 1 cent a share, a year earlier.

•  Tibco Software had a second-quarter loss that widened to 9 cents a share from 2 cents in the year-earlier period. The maker of communications software said its loss widened because of slower sales and higher sales and marketing costs.

•  Extreme Networks issued bad news of a different variety. The maker of computer network switches said its Chief Financial Officer Vito Palermo will be leaving the company.

•  Research In Motion reported some good news. The maker of the BlackBerry two-way e-mail pager earned $3.8 million, or 5 cents per share, on revenue of $77 million for the quarter ended June 2. The company also reiterated its outlook for the current quarter.

At the Bell

The Dow Jones industrial average may open 13 points higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index for June futures contracts was off 1.5 points to 1241 at 7:10 a.m. EDT in 24-hour electronic trading.

Reuters contributed to this report.