US stocks mixed on Europe caution, earnings

NEW YORK: US stocks opened mixed Tuesday as investors sifted through a series of company earnings reports and kept an eye on Europe's struggles to address the eurozone debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.98 points (0.15 percent) to 11,380.12 in the first 10 minutes of trade, extending a sharp 247-point loss on Monday.

The broader S&P 500 advanced 1.42 points (0.12 percent) to 1,202.28, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 1.06 points (0.04 percent) to 2,615.98.

"It was a rough start to the week for the equity market, which dropped 1.9 percent after Germany told participants not to expect a grand solution for Europe's debt problems to be announced this weekend," said Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.

"While there is still hope Europe will do the right thing, the lesson of yesterday was that nothing can be taken for granted as a done deal in the eurozone until Germany, first, says it is a done deal and all other relevant parties concur with that view."

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011