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.

Two more presidential debates remained for investors to digest after they mostly shrugged off the first.

Barring a glaring goof by President Bush or sen. John Kerry, markets are unlikely to react strongly to the final debates, 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 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 U.s. trading at CsFB. "We're going to stay within a trading range."

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

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

The second presidential debate was slated for Friday night, and the final one is scheduled next Wednesday in Phoenix.

For the week, all three major stock indexes declined, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 1.4 percent, the standard & Poor's 500 Index slipping 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index off 1.1 percent.

Government reports next Friday are expected to show retail sales for september gained 0.7 percent, and added 0.3 percent in the nonautomotive sector, while the Producer Price Index, with or without food and energy, likely rose 0.1 percent in september.

A third report about the economy in september is expected to show

industrial production gained 0.3 percent, with capacity edging up to 77.4 percent.

Key companies in technology and banking, including Intel Corp and Yahoo Inc on Tuesday, and Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc on Thursday, report their results as the third-quarter earnings season gets in full swing.

There is a growing sentiment among investment strategists and money managers that it is a good earnings season, which will be good for stocks, said Elliot spar, options market strategist with brokerage and investment bank Ryan Beck & Co.