Delta Descends, Banks Backslide as Earnings Season Leaves Stock Markets Mixed

Wall Street got off to a mixed start on Tuesday, as investors tried to weigh economic data, political maneuverings, and company fundamentals. The mix of conflicting signals left markets without clear direction to start the day. As of 11 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was down 72 points to 28,754, and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) had fallen 11 points to 3,524. However, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) once again defied the downturn, moving higher by 25 points to 11,901.

Earnings season is here, and it's time for some of the companies that have been promising better things ahead to deliver. For Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL), the news wasn't as good as many had hoped to see from the airline giant. Meanwhile, big banking institutions are in the spotlight this week, and with both JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) seeing their shares lose ground Tuesday, it's clear that investors didn't get everything they'd hoped for.

Shares of Delta Air Lines were down 3% Tuesday morning after the airline reported its third-quarter financial results. A gargantuan $6.9 billion pre-tax loss was the headline number for Delta, and it was hard for most investors to get past that amount of red ink.

Source Fool.com