US stocks fall in early trading after mixed earnings news; US govt bonds rise

U.S. stocks were broadly lower in early trading Tuesday as investors reacted to mixed corporate earnings. JPMorgan Chase rose after reporting first-quarter results that beat analysts' expectations. Eight of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell, led by industrial companies.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 36 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,940 as of 10:18 a.m. Eastern time. The S&P 500 dropped five points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,087. The Nasdaq composite fell 24 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,963.

JPMORGAN JUMPS: The nation's largest bank by asset rose $1.43, or 2.3 percent, to $63.50 after reporting earnings rose 11 percent in the first quarter, helped by strong results in the bank's currency, commodities and fixed-income trading business.

J&J FLAT: Johnson & Johnson was little changed after reporting first-quarter profit fell 8.6 percent, hurt by unfavorable exchange rates, a divestiture and a slightly higher tax rate. The results beat Wall Street expectations, but the company also cut its full-year profit forecast. Shares fell 29 cents to $100.26.

WELLS DROPS: Wells Fargo fell 84 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $53.76 after reporting first-quarter earnings fell slightly from the same period a year earlier. Gains from trading and mortgages were offset by lower income from other parts of its business, such as seasonally lower card fees and deposit service charges.

HEADING TO THE MALL: Retail sales jumped 0.9 percent last month, after declining 0.5 percent in February, the Commerce Department said. The rebound suggests that shoppers are returning after an unseasonably cold winter froze sales.

EUROPE: France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX each fell 1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed.

MORE DEAL-MAKING: Nokia said it is in talks to buy French networks company Alcatel-Lucent. Shares in Alcatel-Lucent, which has reported losses for almost a decade, jumped 12 percent, while Nokia's stock dropped 6 percent.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's Nikkei 225 closed little changed. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.2 percent. South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.5 percent.

CHINA FOCUS: Investors have their eyes on economic growth data on China, set to be released later in the week. Monday's trade data, showing a contraction by a bigger margin than expected, added to speculation of more stimulus measures.

ANALYST TAKE: "Asian markets haven't managed to match the exceptional performance seen yesterday. Today seems to be a day of consolidation ahead of a data dump from China tomorrow," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $1 to $52.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for many oils imported by U.S. refineries, gained 69 cents to $59.75 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar slipped to 119.37 yen from 120.32 yen. The euro rose to $1.0667 from $1.0597.

BONDS: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.87 percent from 1.93 percent late Monday.