Heading into the heart of earnings season next week the expected results look robust, but a slowing of future profit growth and the impact of surging oil prices on the economy could conspire to hold down stocks.

One more presidential debate remained for investors to digest after they mostly shrugged off the first two.

As there was no glaring goof by President George W. Bush or Senator John Kerry, markets are unlikely to react strongly to the final debate, analysts said.

For some, a surprisingly weak payrolls report on Friday that showed only 96,000 jobs were added in September will sharpen criticism of Mr Bush, though others said the election is still three weeks away and the news was just a minor irritant.

"People are trying to figure out what this dog race is going to turn into," said Scott Lynch, managing director of US trading at CSFB. "We're going to stay within a trading range."

However, chief investment strategist Jeffrey Saut of Raymond James Financial said Mr Kerry would likely spin the data to his advantage and make it very difficult for Mr Bush.

"A Kerry victory from Wall Street's standpoint is not a good thing," Mr Saut said, as a reduction in dividend taxes Mr Bush had enacted could be in jeopardy under a Mr Kerry presidency.

The final presidential debate is scheduled on Wednesday in Phoenix. For the week, all three major stock indexes declined, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.4 per cent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipping 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index off 1.1 per cent.

Government reports on Friday are expected to show retail sales for September gained 0.7 per cent, and added 0.3 per cent in the non-automotive sector, while the Producer Price Index, with or without food and energy, likely rose 0.1 per cent in September.