Business news with words alcoa+market. 10 news.

Stocks that were moving substantially or trading heavily Monday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market:

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Stock market futures help broadly steady ahead of a shortened Christmas Eve trading session Monday, with Alcoa Inc. among the stocks in focus after it agreed to sell its packaging and consumer businesses.

Plus more stocks making headlines in Monday's market

Disappointing early reports on third-quarter results from Monsanto, Alcoa, and others may test the stock market's recent rally

WALL Street stumbled through a lopsided session yesterday, closing mixed as profit warnings and news from blue chip names Alcoa Inc. and Boeing Co. dragged down the Dow Jones industrial average but largely spared technology stocks. A pullback was to be expected after the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished at new highs Tuesday amid enthusiasm over comments from Federal Reserve policymakers about interest rates, but corporate news appeared to hasten yesterday's slide. Declines by Dow components Boeing and Alcoa, among others, hurt the 30-stock index. Meanwhile, International Paper Co. and Chevron Corp. moved lower on profit news. With investors thumbing through fresh quarterly results and company news, the latest economic readings did little to dislodge the dichotomy between blue chips and tech stocks. A report showed inventories among US wholesalers ticked up in August, while a trade group for real estate agents warned the drop in sales of existing homes this year will be steeper than had been expected. The stock market's uneven but still relatively calm trading yesterday followed the surge the day before that was sparked by release of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting. Wall Street initially was ebullient that the Fed did not appear to rule out further rate cuts but, on reflection, some investors seemed to be questioning whether that response was a little too optimistic. "People are looking backward at what the Fed was discussing to try and discern whether or not we're in a recession," said Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "Looking in the rearview mirror isn't going to give us that clarity because its history, so instead I'm really looking forward to what corporate earnings will show." The Dow fell 85.84, or 0.61 percent, to 14,078.69 after rising 120 points on Tuesday. Broader stock indicators were mixed. The S&P 500 fell 2.68, or 0.17 percent, to 1,562.47, and the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index rose 7.70, or 0.27 percent, to 2,811.61. Bond prices were little changed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged at 4.65 percent, compared with late Tuesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Light, sweet crude rose US$1.04 to settle at US$81.30 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange following word that workers at Chevron facilities in Nigeria had staged a surprise strike and by a

Market players were also awaiting the release of results from Alcoa Tuesday as third-quarter earnings-reporting season begins

WALL Street finished a quiet session mostly lower yesterday, as investors cashed in some gains from last week's rally and readied for quarterly corporate earnings reports. The Treasury bond market was closed for the Columbus Day holiday and there was no major economic news to guide investors, so Wall Street remained cautious ahead of the flood of third-quarter results. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc., one of the 30 Dow Jones industrial average components, kicks off the earnings season on Tuesday. Earnings are expected to reflect the difficulty some companies have faced, particularly in the financial and housing sectors, following upheaval in the credit markets amid overly leveraged debt and defaults in subprime mortgages. The reports will also give insight into the fourth quarter, which market participants predict will bring more robust growth. "There's room for a rally if third-quarter earnings come in stronger than expected, but they do want to see that the fourth quarter is going to be strong as well," said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. Trucking company Ryder System Inc. contributed to Wall Street's wariness Monday when it lowered its third-quarter and full-year forecasts on weakness in its fleet management business. The Dow fell 22.28, or 0.16 percent, to 14,043.73. Broader stock indexes were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.01, or 0.32 percent, to 1,552.58, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.05, or 0.25 percent, to 2,787.37. Trading volumes were low, with many investors on the sidelines for the holiday. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by nearly 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 850.5 million shares. Trading was also light because the market is waiting for Tuesday's release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's September 18 meeting, when policy makers lowered interest rates by a half-point. Wall Street hopes the minutes reveal hints that more rate cuts are in store, which could further loosen the credit markets and fuel spending. The tech-heavy Nasdaq got a boost from Google Inc., which surpassed US$600 for the first time and extended a monthlong rally after upbeat projections about third-quarter earnings. The company's initial public offering price was US$85 in August 2004, and shares on Monday rose US$15.57, or 2.6 percent, to US$609.62. The Nasdaq was also lifted by Business Objects SA, a French company with U.S.-tr

US aluminium group said it had sold its 7 per cent holding in Aluminium Corporation of China (Chalco) for $2bn, but denied that the sale represented a partial withdrawal from the Chinese market

Stock market futures pointed to a weaker start after hopes for a rate cut inspired gains in the previous session, with Texas Instruments in focus after narrowing its financial targets and the dollar falling to a record low against the euro.

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Aluminum major Alcoa intends to sell up to $1.64 billion worth of its shares in Chinese metals giant Aluminum Corp. of China , or Chalco, at a discount to market price of those shares, reported Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday. The report, which cites a term sheet seen by the news service, says Alcoa's unit Alcoa International (Asia) is selling 700 million Hong Kong-listed shares of Chalco. Alcoa has retained an option to sell up to 884.21 million shares, or its entire stake in Chalco, at a price between HK$17.26 ($2.22) and HK$18.27, according to the report. Chalco's shares closed 0.3% higher at HK$20.40 in Hong Kong trading Wednesday. No reasons were provided for the decision. Alcoa reportedly bought the shares at the time of Chalco's initial public offering in 2001, at HK$1.37 a share.