NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks slid at the open Tuesday as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings news that came in from some Dow heavyweights before the market opened.

At 9:35 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average (down 34.67 to 8316.43, Charts), the Nasdaq composite (down 7.10 to 1377.85, Charts) and the S&P 500 index (down 2.47 to 882.76, Charts) all logged small losses.

Among the movers, Dow component General Motors (GM: down $1.16 to $34.96, Research, Estimates) posted first-quarter earnings of $1.81 per share, 27 cents better than what analysts expected, on average, according to tracking firm First Call, and up from $1.29 a share a year earlier. But, the company warned that it would have trouble meeting its earlier forecast for 2003 results.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ: down $1.38 to $56.40, Research, Estimates), also a Dow 30 member, said its earnings rose to 69 cents a share up from 59 cents in the year-earlier period and a penny better than expected.

IBM (IBM: up $0.20 to $80.27, Research, Estimates) posted its first-quarter results late Monday. The computer maker posted a weaker-than-expected profit but better-than-forecast revenue, both of which improved from a year earlier. Looking forward, the company said it expects to meet revenue and earnings-per-share forecasts for 2003.

Investors also looked ahead to what No. 1 software maker Microsoft (MSFT: down $0.12 to $24.63, Research, Estimates) and No. 1 chip maker Intel (INTC: down $0.17 to $16.99, Research, Estimates) would have to say after the close of trading Tuesday, when the tech bellwethers report their quarterly results.

The morning's weak economic news also put pressure on the market. The government said industrial production fell 0.5 percent in March, compared with a 0.1 percent rise in February. The report was weaker than economists expected -- on average they had forecast a 0.2 percent decline, according to a survey by Briefing.com. Capacity utilization also shrank more than expected to 74.8 compared with an expected 75.3 percent from 75.6 percent in the previous month.

European markets made gains at midday and Asian-Pacific stocks closed higher Tuesday.

Treasury prices edged higher, with the 10-year note gaining 1/4 of a point in price to yield 3.98 percent. The dollar was little changed against the yen and euro.

Brent oil futures for June delivery were 19 cents lower at $24.63 a barrel in London, while gold for June delivery rose 50 cents an ounce to $325.40 in New York.