Stocks Opened Lower as Alcoa Results Disappointed

U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday as Alcoa reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 100.98 points, or 0.55%, to 18,228.06. The S&P 500 was down 12.59 points, or 0.58%, to 2,151.07. The Nasdaq Composite gave up 30.41 points, or 0.57% to 5,298.26.

Alcoa Inc., less than a month away from splitting itself in two, reported worse-than-expected earnings growth in the latest quarter as lower alumina pricing and changes to aerospace delivery schedules dented revenue. Alcoa reported a profit of $166 million, or 33 cents a share, compared with $44 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago.

Oil prices pulled back Tuesday after the monthly report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency said global supplies rose in September. The December contract for global crude benchmark Brent was down 0.9% at $52.68 a barrel while its U.S. counterpart West Texas Intermediate fell 0.8% to $50.95 for November deliveries.

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd said on Tuesday it has halted the production of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones due to consumer safety concerns.

Airbus Group SE lashed out at Poland for scrapping a 13.5 billion-zloty ($3.5 billion) helicopter deal and handing orders to rivals apparently without a tender process, saying it will seek remedies in a dispute that’s boiled over into an international diplomatic incident.