NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to fall at the start of trading Tuesday, as weaker-than-expected results from Alcoa rattled investors.
The Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq-100 and S&P-500 futures were lower. Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) kicked off the corporate reporting period after U.S. markets closed Monday. The aluminum maker posted a small profit but missed Wall Street's expectations.
U.S. stocks seesawed Monday as investors nervously awaited the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season, while eyeing a weak dollar, higher commodity prices and a selloff in technology shares. The Dow and S&P 500 posted modest gains while the Nasdaq closed a shade lower.
"I think you have a little bit of a slipover from Alcoa's news yesterday, that they delivered disappointing earnings," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott. "You're setting a tone for this morning, since Alcoa is a bellwether for the earnings season."
He said that Alcoa's miss was "leading the earnings season on a somewhat sour note."
Luschini said investors will also keep a close eye on KB Home, expected to release quarterly earnings Tuesday, for insight into the housing sector.
Companies: Companies due to report quarterly financial results early Tuesday include KB Home (KBH) and Supervalu (SVU, Fortune 500).
Economy: Investors will look to a monthly report on the trade balance, which comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET. The November trade deficit is expected to widen to $34.5 billion, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com. That would be wider than the $32.9 billion in October.
Fed: The Federal Reserve made record profits in 2009, according to a report in the Washington Post. The report estimated that the Fed, which returns its earnings to the U.S. Treasury, will return about $45 billion for 2009.
World markets: Asian stocks mostly fell, although Japanese shares managed to finish the session higher. Major European indexes dipped more than 1% in midday trading.
Money and oil: The dollar rose against the euro, but fell versus the pound and the yen.
The price of oil fell 72 cents a barrel to $81.80. It was a continuation of Monday's decline, when oil gave back earlier gains after a forecast for warmer temperatures undermined demand.
The price of gold fell $3 per troy ounce to $1,148.40.
In the bond market, the price on the 10-year Treasury note fell and the yield rose to 3.76%. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
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