Futures indicate a lower start: S&P futures vs fair value: -23.70. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -18.30. ConocoPhillips (COP) and Northwest Airlines (NWA) reported higher-than-expected earnings. In commodity trading, crude oil prices are down 4.0% to $69.26 per barrel ahead of the government's weekly energy inventory report at 14:35 GMT. Analysts expect that there will be the fourth straight increase in crude stockpiles. Apple (APPL) posted stronger than expected earnings, but gave a cautious fourth quarter outlook. Yahoo! (YHOO) reported a drop in earnings that met expectations. The Internet company plans to cut at least 10% of its workforce, or 1,500 employees, as previous media reports suggested. McDonald's (MCD), Philip Morris International (PM), VMWare (VMW) and WellPoint (WLP) posted better-than-expected earnings. AT&T (T) and Boeing (BA) missed estimates. In other news, Samsung Electronics withdrew its $26 per share, or $5.9 billion, offer to acquire SanDisk (SNDK) due to uncertain business conditions.