KARUNA SHINSHO, CNN ANCHOR: Financial markets are closed in the United States for the Labor Day holiday. The Holiday marks an unofficial end to the summer season. As Maggie Lake reports, U.S. investors are trying to predict what fortunes the fall will bring.</s>MAGGIE LAKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): September is notoriously volatile month on Wall Street. Mutual funds, which close their books at the end of the month, often sell stocks to offset taxable gains accumulated during the year. But analysts say this time things may be different.</s>BARRY HYMAN, ERENKRANTZ KING NUSSBAUM: I don't believe there were that many gains this year, in terms of many mutual fund families. Most of them are down for the year, so the likelihood of a lot of selling coming to the market to offset those potential gains may not be as bad as we've had in previous years.</s>LAKE: That leaves the focus squarely on earnings. So far this year, we have not seen much in the way of profits. Plans by the massive drop-off in business spending, former tech darlings, like Sun Microsystems, have warned they might actually lose money in the third quarter, while top fiber-optics company Corning has been forced to lay off thousands of workers. Analysts are not looking for third-quarter results to offer much promise.</s>LARRY WACHTEL, PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL: The third-quarter earnings will be about as fair as the second quarter -- not quite as bad. The second quarter is down about 17 percent. I look for 13 percent to 15 percent in the third quarter.</s>LAKE: It's not all belief the effects of the Federal Reserve's seven interest rate cuts are expected to kick in soon. And tax we rebate checks are now burning a hole in some consumers' pockets. (on camera): And analysts say until corporate America starts delivering better earnings news, it will be hard for the market to avoid a September slump. Maggie Lake, CNN Financial News, New York.
Labor Day Considered End to Summer Stocks Season