Wall Street investors brace for earnings kickoff

LONDON -- U.S. stock futures were battening down the hatches ahead of the kickoff of corporate earnings season later Tuesday.

Dow Jones Industrial Average index stock futures were off 0.1% at 13,300, Standard & Poor's 500 futures were down 0.1% at 1,454 and Nasdaq-100 futures declined 0.1% at 2,715.

Aluminum maker Alcoa reports its earnings after the market closes Tuesday, marking the official start to earnings season.

It will be Wall Street's first look at just how much business was affected by the uncertainty caused by the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations that ended with an eleventh-hour deal on New Year's Day and the disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy, the worst storm to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

All three of the major U.S. benchmarks ended Monday's trading session in the red. The Dow lost 0.4%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3% and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%.

Benchmarks in Europe and Asia were following a downward trajectory ahead of the U.S. market open on Tuesday.

USA Today