Earnings disappoint; stocks dive

NEW YORK — Wall Street pulled back sharply Tuesday as investors dealt with disappointing earnings reports and rising concerns about the mortgage market. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 200 points.

The Dow gave up 226.47, or 1.62 percent, closing at 13,716.95. The drop was the average's biggest since March 13, when the Dow tumbled 242 points, also amid concerns that the subprime woes could infect the broader lending industry.

Twenty-nine of the 30 Dow components fell; including Microsoft, which lost 39 cents to close at $30.80, and Boeing, which fell 24 cents to end the day at $103.80; only Verizon Communications notched a modest gain.

DuPont was the Dow's biggest loser after the chemical maker reported flat second-quarter profit, as improving sales abroad balanced the weakness in the U.S. housing and automotive markets.

Tuesday's retreat was not surprising, given that the market's recent move into record territory above 14,000 came before companies began reporting quarterly results in earnest.

Other major stock indicators also suffered steep declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 30.53, or 1.98 percent, to 1,511.04. The Nasdaq composite index lost 50.72, or 1.89 percent, closing at 2,639.86.

After the Dow's move last week over 14,000 for the first time, it "seems logically like the market needs to have some profit-taking," said Joe Ranieri, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams.

The stock market will likely be driven again by company earnings reports over the next two weeks, he said, as investors try to get a sense of how well corporate profits will hold up in the second half of the year.

For the sixth straight session, the market has risen one day and fallen the next.