Wall Street stocks fell back from opening gains as a boost from a string of mostly upbeat earnings reports was offset by a surprising fall in leading economic indicators. By mid-morning, the Dow Jones was down 6.52 points to 9,715.27 and the Nasdaq dropped 6.58 points to 1,905.78. The Conference Board today reported that its index of leading economic indicators fell 0.2pc to 113 during September after rising 0.4pc in August. Economists had expected a marginal rise or, at least, no change. The data left investors concerned as to the depth and strength of the recovery.
Third quarter earnings reports from heavyweights were the main focus of investors' attention in early deals. Financial giant Citigroup today reported better-than-expected earnings of 90 cents per share, up from 76 cents a year earlier, where analysts had predicted 85 cents a share. Shares, however, fell by 1.1pc. Printer manufacturer Lexmark reported strong earnings and revenue growth in the third quarter and predicted fourth-quarter results ahead of Wall Street's expectations. The stock rallied more than 5pc.//www.fxcentre.com