US stocks mixed ahead of second-quarter earnings

Stocks in the US finished an uneasy session mixed today as investors grew nervous ahead of the second-quarter earnings season. Weakness in the technology sector dragged on the Nasdaq composite index.

Expectations for solid quarterly results helped the market to an early advance, but the enthusiasm waned throughout the session, prompting some traders to lock in profits. Dow Jones industrials component Alcoa – the first major US company to report – sagged after releasing its results after the close of trading.