July 19 Reuters Halliburton Co and Baker Hughes Co on Wednesday reported results that beat analysts39; estimates for secondquarter profit, but the oilfield services firms warned of weakness in U.S. shale activity for the rest of the year.

Weaker oil and gas prices have forced U.S. shale producers to cut the number of active rigs by 11 in the AprilJune quarter, hurting demand for drilling equipment and services.

Looking ahead into the second half, I expect overall market activity in North America will be slightly lower than in the first half, Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said.

Halliburton, the top U.S. fracking service provider, forecast its third quarter revenue from well completion and productions to be flat sequentially, while drilling and evaluation operations could increase at a low singledigit percentage rate.

The environment in North America has leveled off, and we39;re hearing some of the customers requesting discounts, Baker Hughes Chief Executive Lorenzo Simonelli said.

Pricing for its technology in North America should not change, Simonelli added.

International markets were a bright spot for both Houstonbased companies thanks to a resurgence in offshore and activity in the Middle East and Latin America since Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine last year.

There is more concern about North America than international markets, said Peter McNally, an analyst at research firm Third Bridge.

It is likely that investors are going to wait and see until…