Tuesday, the first day of the third quarter, proved to be a mixed trading day. Usually, on day one of a new quarter, a heavy selling off occurs. And, market trends on Tuesday, July 2, made no difference to the aforementioned pattern, at least in the early session when negative economic data from the Institute of Supply Management also helped pressure stocks. However, stock indexes managed to eke out in afternoon trading.

Shares of notable automakers, such as Ford Motor Co. (F: chart), General Motors Corp (GM: chart) and DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX: chart), eased after the release of their monthly sales figures despite the general optimistic outlook for the rest of the year.

Ford, the world's largest pickup truck maker, reported that total U.S. sales in June declined 7.7% year over year versus analysts' expectations for a rise of 2.2%. The company also announced that sales of trucks for the month decreased 4.1% to 200,165 units, while car sales dropped 13.7% to 111,087 units.

Sales of all its brands were lower except Lincoln and Volvo. More specifically, Ford sales fell 6.6% to 257,598 units; Mercury sales plunged 36.2% to 17,517 units; Jaguar sales were down 4% to 5,182 units, and Land Rover sales sagged 15.9% to 3,369 units. The Lincoln and Volvo brands posted positive results, with Lincoln sales rising 5% at 14,247 units and Volvo surging 21.7% to 13,339 units.

'The pace of auto sales picked up during the first half,' said Jim O'Connor, the company's vice president, North America Marketing, Sales and Service, in a prepared statement.

'We estimate the second quarter sales rate was 16.6 million, compared with 16.2 million in the first quarter. We believe the President's tax cut and lower interest rates will support stronger economic growth and higher auto sales in the second half,' O'Connor added.

Shares of the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker declined 17 cents, or 1.55%, to 10.82 in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The stock lost another 5 cents to 10.77 in extended trading.

Rival General Motors (GM) gave up 26 cents, or 0.72%, to finish at 35.74 after the No. 1 automaker worldwide said that total U.S. sales in June rose 1.5% to 429,742 from the same month a year earlier. The slight improvement was attributed to sales incentives and discounts offered by the giant to bolster sales after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Analysts had pegged GM to report a rise of 2.6% in total sales.

The company's truck sales jumped 10.3% to 247,577 units - an industry record for the third consecutive month – driven by strong sport utility vehicle sales. On the other hand, car sales, excluding its Saab brand, dropped 8.5% to 182,165 units, compared with the results achieved in June 2002.

Also, GM cut its previous third-quarter production estimates for Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, the company reiterated its production targets for North America and Asia Pacific.

'We remain optimistic the second half of the year will improve and this momentum will carry into 2004,' said John Smith, GM's group vice president for sales, service and marketing in North America.

On a brighter note, Chrysler Group - DaimlerChrysler's U.S. unit, - said that its sales rose 6% in June to 198,962 units on a day rate basis. Results topped Wall Street estimates of a 4.6% increase. On a unit basis, total sales actually fell from the 202,822 units sold in June 2002.

Car sales advanced 1% to 47,219 units and truck sales jumped 8% to 151,743 units. June sales of the company's top-selling Dodge Ram pickup trucks soared 31% to 41,115 units, compared with 34,053 units in the year-ago month.

The world's No. 3 carmaker in sales also reported that its U.S. Mercedes-Benz luxury unit sold 105,901 new vehicles for the last six months, up 2.9%, from 102,927 units in the comparable period last year.

DaimlerChrysler's shares slipped 1 cent, or 0.03%, to 34.71 in regular trading on the NYSE.

Before market open Tuesday, Verizon Communications (VZ: chart) announced that it would take a number of second-quarter charges, including a charge of more than $1.6 billion due to an accounting change. Also, the largest U.S. local telephone company backed its full-year 2003 financial guidance.

The accounting move results from a change in the company's directory business, which will impact negatively first-quarter earnings results, reducing them to 87 cents a share from $1.41 a share.

Verizon also expects to record a second-quarter charge of $900 million, or 33 cents a share, related to a recent decision to sell its 39.4% stake in Grupo Iusacell SA de CV (CEL: chart) - Mexico's No. 3 wireless-phone operator.

In addition, the company also expects second-quarter charges of about $400 million to $500 million, or 14 cents to 19 cents a share, for severance costs, the early redemption of debt and impairments of long-lived assets mainly due to consolidation and integration of facilities.