Wall St: Wednesday mid-session

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

A DISAPPOINTING profit report from Alcoa weighed on Wall Street, crushing some of the optimism many investors felt ahead of first-quarter earnings.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow slipped 92.66, or 0.9% to 10,478.15 and the Nasdaq composite index lost 19.94, or 1.0% to 2,039.96.

A downbeat profit outlook from Nokia released Tuesday pressured prices for a second session, adding to investor nervousness.

Sentiment on Wall Street seemed to be shifting after expectations of strong earnings had pushed the major indices higher in three of the last four sessions.

Alcoa fell 75 cents to $35.75 after quarterly results from the world's largest aluminium producer missed expectations. Alcoa, the first Dow component to report earnings, announced after the market closed on Tuesday that its profits doubled in the first quarter, but analysts' had expected the company to do even better.

Nokia, the world's biggest cell phone maker, was down 3 cents at $17.18 as it defended itself against a class action law suit filed by investors Tuesday accusing the company of securities fraud related to its first-quarter forecast. On Tuesday, Nokia dropped 19 percent after issuing a gloomy outlook.

Taser International surged $2.70 to $94.95 as investors shrugged off a recent news report that its stun guns, used by police to disarm suspects, had been linked to some deaths. The company, which is planning a stock split later in the month, says the device is not dangerous.

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