Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures declined before a government report that may show the country's productivity growth slowed in the third quarter, while labor costs accelerated.

Qualcomm Inc. slid after the chipmaker's 2005 profit forecast missed analysts' expectations. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be active after the world's largest retailer said quarterly sales were below expectations.

Stocks gained yesterday after President George W. Bush was re-elected, boosting optimism that a second Republican administration's policies will support earnings growth.

``Once we move past the election, we have to refocus back on the world of today,'' said Steve Frantz, who oversees $2.5 billion at First Investment Group in Omaha, Nebraska. Increased profits have come from boosts to productivity, which ``you can only push so far until you run out of gas,'' he said yesterday.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in December lost 2.1 to 1143 as of 11:33 a.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 15 to 10,126. Nasdaq-100 Index futures declined 6 to 1502. Nineteen Dow stocks slipped in Europe, while eight rose.

Productivity may rise at an annual 1.5 percent in the third quarter, according to the median estimate of 62 economists in a Bloomberg survey. That would be a percentage point less than the previous quarter's gain and the smallest since April-June 2002.

The costs for each unit of labor probably rose at a 2.3 percent annualized rate, the most in two years. The Labor Department report is expected at 8:30 a.m. in Washington.

Qualcomm Forecast

Qualcomm, the world's second-largest maker of microchips that run mobile phones, shed 6.7 percent to $37.19 in Germany. The San Diego-based company said yesterday that it will earn $1.15 to a $1.19 per share in fiscal 2005. The company was expected to have a profit of $1.21, the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

The chipmaker also said sales in the current quarter will be as much as $1.4 billion, less than the $1.5 billion average analyst estimate.

``The earnings season has been OK, but the outlook statements were more cautious,'' said Jane Coffey, head of equities for Royal London Asset Management in London, which oversees about $40 billion. ``There's more uncertainty out there about 2005.''

Wal-Mart said third-quarter profit was at the high end of the forecast range of 52 cents to 54 cents a share, helped by profit margins and a tax credit. Sales were below expectations, the company said. The shares dropped 23 cents to $54.25 in Germany before the announcement.

Airspan, Andrx

Airspan Networks Inc. and Andrx Corp. plunged after their earnings fell short of estimates.

Airspan shed 14 percent to $5.72 in Germany. The maker of wireless-communications equipment said it had a third-quarter net loss of 9 cents a share, more than the 3-cent loss estimated by four analysts in a survey by Thomson Financial.

Andrx slumped $3.95, or 20 percent, to $15.71. The generic- drug maker expanding into brand-name medicines said in a statement that third-quarter revenue was $272.3 million, less than the average estimate of $293.6 million by nine analysts in a Thomson Financial survey.

Electronic Data Systems Corp., the second-largest seller of computer services, lost $1.22, or 5.9 percent, to $19.43. EDS delayed its third-quarter results a second time to finish an asset writedown demanded by auditors and address new concerns raised about its bonus-plan accounting.

Nvidia, Qwest

Nvidia Corp., one of 20 companies in the S&P 500 to report earnings today, rose 7 cents to $15.20. The biggest maker of computer-graphics chips is expected to say after markets close that third-quarter profit was 9 cents a share, down from 10 cents a year earlier, before some gains and losses. That was the average estimate in a Thomson Financial survey of analysts.

Qwest Communications International Inc., the biggest telephone company in 14 western U.S. states, and Cardinal Health Inc., the second-biggest U.S. drug wholesaler, are also scheduled to report quarterly figures.

Qwest fell 1 cent to $3.40 in Germany, while Cardinal Health didn't trade in Europe. Neither did CVS Corp., the No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain by revenue, nor Devon Energy Corp., an Oklahoma City-based oil and gas company, which also report earnings today.

Asyst, Mamma.com

Asyst Technologies Inc. fell $1.05, or 20 percent, to $4.23. The maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment said in a statement distributed by Business Wire that it postponed reporting its financial results for the fiscal second quarter. The company said it's in a contract dispute with a customer over an order worth about $120 million.

Mamma.com Inc. fell 65 cents, or 8.7 percent, to $6.84. The Internet search engine operator said third-quarter net income fell to 2 cents a share from 3 cents a year earlier.

Another report at 8:30 a.m. Washington time may show the number of U.S. workers filing initial claims for unemployment insurance fell last week by 10,000 to 340,000, based on the median of 42 estimates in another Bloomberg News survey. Claims have averaged 345,000 this year.

U.S. employers may have added 175,000 workers in October, the most in five months, according to economists surveyed ahead of a government report tomorrow.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1 percent yesterday to a four-month high of 1143.20, led by drugmakers and oil companies, which investors have said may benefit the most from a Bush government. The Dow and the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1 percent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexis Xydias in London at axydias@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 4, 2004 06:35 EST