Stocks finish Mixed Ahead of Earnings

[kst$]

<H4>Stocks Finish Mixed Ahead of Earnings

04/07/08 17:54 EDT
By MADLEN READ
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street started the week with a narrowly mixed performance Monday, with many investors moving to the sidelines as they wait for quarterly profit reports.
Stocks had popped higher in earlier trading, extending last week's big advance on talk of a $5 billion private equity investment in Washington Mutual Inc. The nation's largest thrift is reportedly in discussions with buyout shop TPG Inc. and other investors about selling a stake in itself in return for cash.
But with earnings on tap and the Federal Reserve issuing minutes from its March meeting on Tuesday, investors, while clearly feeling more confident overall, decided to play it a little safer late in the day - especially with Alcoa Inc. announcing its first-quarter results after the close.
Alcoa was the biggest loser among the 30 Dow Jones industrials, falling $1.56, or 4 percent, to $37.44 ahead of its earnings release. The aluminum company said it had a 54 percent drop in first-quarter net income, a sharper decline than the market expected. Its shares were little changed in after-hours trading.

</H4>
read more here