Stocks open mixed on Wall Street ahead of earnings

Trader Luigi Muccitelli, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, April 4, 2013. Stocks are notching small gains in early trading after the U.S. government reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level since late November. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Luigi Muccitelli, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, April 4, 2013. Stocks are notching small gains in early trading after the U.S. government reported that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose to the highest level since late November. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street as traders gear up for the beginning of corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones industrial average was off 23 points, or 0.2 percent, at 14,541 shortly after the opening bell Monday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down less than a point, or 0.04 percent, at 1,552. The Nasdaq composite rose five points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,208.

Investors are turning their attention to U.S. corporate earnings results following a dismal report on employment on Friday.

Aluminum maker Alcoa becomes the first company in the Dow Jones industrial average to report its results later Monday, after the close of trading.

European markets were slightly higher.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-08-US-Wall-Street-Open/id-7d2e03d042944d17911e4f3b058969e1

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