NEW YORK -- Wall Street headed for a modestly lower open Tuesday as investors awaited more first-quarter earnings reports and watched oil prices hit a new record near $121 a barrel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Remarkably resilient morale among euro zone investors and businesses will face a reality check this week as first-quarter earnings reports from the non-financial sector get into full swing.

Shares surge after three Dow components post better-than-expected quarterly results. Oil prices hit a new record. Stocks surged Wednesday, sending the Dow Jones industrials up more than 250 points, after better-than-expected earnings reports from three Dow components relieved anxiety about corporate profits and the economy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The rocky ride for the stock market may intensify this week if earnings reports from JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), Merrill Lynch (MER.N), Citigroup (C.N) and other large banks and financial services companies rattle investors already concerned about a U.S.-led economic slowdown.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Efforts to rescue a distraught U.S. bond insurance industry could inject a positive note on Wall Street but the economic data and earnings reports on tap for this week are unlikely to change a downward trend for stocks.

Major indexes rise on earnings reports and acquisitions, despite borrowing worries and weakness in home sales. Stocks rebounded somewhat Wednesday on some strong earnings and new takeover deals, but not without a struggle as mounting signs of a tougher lending climate again dogged investors.