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U.S. bourses softer by the close; all eyes on Alcoa after the bell earnings

In corporate news, all eyes will be on the US second-quarter earnings season, which kicks off after the bell Monday with Alcoa (NYSE:AA), which is expected to report a small profit.

U.S. stocks fell Monday afternoon as investors remained wary ahead of quarterly corporate results and another eurozone meeting.

As at 2.35pm EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.46% lower at 12,713.70, the S&P 500 was down 0.36% at 1,349.82 and the NASDAQ was off by 0.39% at 2,925.91.

Worries over Spanish bond yields were high on traders' minds Monday, as Spain’s 10-year debt yield rose above 7% in the morning while European finance ministers geared up to meet and work out the details of a possible rescue for the country’s beleaguered banks.

Eurozone leaders are to meeting to discuss the terms of a $124 billion lifeline from other members of the 17-country eurozone for Spain’s banking industry. There are worries that the terms of the Spanish bailout deal could be less favorable than initially proposed at the EU summit.

Adding to woes were reports that came out saying China’s inflation fell sharply in June on falling demand.

In corporate news, all eyes will be on the US second-quarter earnings season, which kicks off after the bell Monday with Alcoa (NYSE:AA), which is expected to report a small profit.

Overall, investors are prepping for a lacklustre earnings season, with profits expected to fall in comparison to the first quarter.

Analysts expect net income from Alcoa of 5 cents per share, down from 32 cents in the same quarter a year ago, on $5.8 billion in revenue. The average estimate has moved down 12 cents per share in the past three months.

The aluminum producer is considered a bellwether for the materials sector.

FX Alliance (NYSE:FX) shares rose 40% after the company said it has agreed to be bought by Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) for $616 million.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) said Monday that it started production at the Kizomba Satellites Phase 1 oil project in offshore Angola. The project will in time produce 100,000 barrels of oil a day from two large deep-water fields, dubbed Mavacola and Clochas.

WellPoint (NYSE:WLP) Monday agreed to buy Amerigroup Corp. (NYSE:AGP) for $92 per share, bringing together two major managed health care companies. WellPoint valued the deal at $4.9 billion.

The Warnaco Group (NYSE:WRC) said Monday it is conducting a business review of its European-based operations to improve future growth and profitability, which is expected to result in a restructuring of the European unit.

SiriusXm Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) said it saw an uptick in net subscriber growth during the second quarter, triggering a revised full-year sales forecast.

The world’s largest radio broadcaster measured by sales said it added 622,042 net subscribes in second quarter, up 38% from 452,147 net subscribers in 2011.

FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) were down 5% Monday as late last week the company said that it would lay off 3% of its employees and consolidate office space, leading to a $28 million pretax charge in the second quarter.

Luminex Corp. (NASDAQ:LMNX) stock fell 17% after the company said it would acquire GenturaDx for $50 million in cash "subject to working capital reconciliation and potential additional contingent consideration for achievement of future milestones and/or product revenue performance".

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve will release data on consumer credit for May at 3 p.m. ET. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect consumer credit to have expanded by $9.5 billion for the month, after growing by $6.5 billion in April.


Commodities

On the NYMEX, crude futures for August delivery rose $1.37 to $85.81 a barrel while gold futures for August delivery rose $10 to $1,588.90 an ounce.


Europe

European stocks closed lower with the FTSE 100 shedding 0.6%, the DAX falling 0.4% and the CAC 40 slipping 0.4%.

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