Bad slide for FTSE

Wall Street stumbled through a lopsided session today, closing mixed as profit warnings and news from blue chip names Alcoa and Boeing dragged down the Dow Jones industrial average but largely spared technology stocks.

A pullback was to be expected after the Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index finished at new highs yesterday amid enthusiasm over comments from Federal Reserve policymakers about interest rates, but corporate news appeared to hasten today's slide.