[R]9:45AM stocks opened lower ahead of Fed Reserve’s decision.[/R]
U.S. stocks opened in the red Tuesday, as investors grew cautious ahead of the Fed Reserve''s policy meeting. A lot of investors expect the central bank''s policymakers to leave interest rates at the same level for the third straight meeting, but there was still much concern about the assessment of the domestic economy.

Wall Street was also focused on Q3 earnings reports. Lockheed Martin Corp.(LM: chart), the world''s largest defense contractor, surpassed expectations. The semiconductor sector came under pressure in early trading after Texas Instruments (TI: chart) released a weaker-than-expected sales forecast and said inventories at the company rose by half from a year ago. The Dow was supported by 2.8% rise for DuPont (DD: chart), as the chemical giant''s Q3 profit exceeded expectations, with the help of higher sales volume and lower fixed costs. Fellow Dow component Pfizer (PFE: chart) was off 1.8% after UBS downgraded the pharmaceutical group to neutral from buy. In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 12.72, or 0.10%, at 12,104.19. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index was down 4.29, or 0.31%, at 1,372.73, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 6.93, or 0.29%, at 2,348.63.

[R]9:30AM London declines, struggles with lower metal prices.[/R]
The FTSE 100 in London fell 0.4 points to trade at 6,165.9 by mid-day.

Advancers

Shares in BP, the largest company in Britain, rose 1% after it reported third-quarter replacement cost profit slightly above expectations, up 58%. Tate & Lyle firmed 2% after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation on the sweetener group from underweight to equal-weight.

Carpetright added 1.5% after it said sales at its UK and Irish business had increased 5.9%, while like-for-like sales in the rest of Europe were 3.6% higher. AMEC rose 0.7% after the engineering group said its joint venture with Babcock International had been appointed preferred bidder for a National Grid contract.

Debenhams advanced 2.7% as pre-tax profits at the retailer rose 67.9%. Debenhams said the retail climate had been volatile after unseasonably warm weather.

Decliners

Miners led the decliners. BHP Billiton lost 1.9% in the wake of its copper production having been hit by the strike in August at the Escondida mine in Chile. Kazakhmys slipped 2.5% while Anglo American eased 2.3%.

Autonomy Corporation was hit by profit taking after it reported a 220% increase in third quarter adjusted profit before tax. Shares in the search software company fell 3.2%. Drugmaker Hikma Pharmaceuticals dipped 3.4% following its statement that it expected annual generic sales to be slightly below those achieved in 2005.

Corporate news

Lapp Plats, mining company, today responded to a surge in its share price, admitting that it is in talks regarding a possible acquisition.

Reckitt Benckiser released a bullish set of figures today, with profits in line with forecasts and a hike to its earnings guidance for the year.


[R]9:00AM Stock futures declined on disappointing outlook from Texas Instruments.[/R]
U.S. stock market futures moved lower on Tuesday, a day after a store revamp plan by Wal-Mart drove averages higher, with the Dow reaching an all-time close. The negative mood Tuesday morning was generated by cautiousness ahead of Fed Reserve interest rate decision and a disappointing view from microchip maker Texas Instruments.

Texas Instruments (TI: chart) shares dropped 1.4% in Germany after reporting slower-than-forecast 13% sales growth and warning that Q4 semiconductor growth will be below the seasonal average. Shares of peer STMicroelectronics dropped 1.9% in Paris.

Among companies reporting earnings today, chemicals producer DuPont (DD: chart) said it swung to a Q3 profit of 52 cents a share, beating estimates. Lockheed Martin Corp. (LM: chart), the world''s top defense contractor, reported a 47% gain in Q3 earnings to $1.46 per share, up from 96 cents per share a year ago, beating estimates of $1.24 per share. Sales rose 4% to $9.61 billion, below expectations of $9.83. The company lifted its outlook for fiscal 2006.

The commodity sector was in the spotlight in Europe, as oil giant BP (BP: chart) posted a 4% profit decline, oil and aluminum producer Norsk Hydro (NHY: chart) reported a 15% profit rise and metals giant BHP Billiton (BPL: chart) reported a 19% drop in copper production. The Federal Open Market Committee opens its interest-rate setting meeting but results of the meeting will be announced not earlier than Wednesday. Dow Jones futures were recently down 8 points, S&P 500 futures slipped 1.7 points and Nasdaq futures fell 4 points.


[R]8:00AM DuPont swung to profit in Q3. The company predicted strong Q4 earnings.[/R]
Chemicals giant DuPont Co. (DD: chart) said Tuesday that it swung to a Q3 profit, helped by improved sales and lower fixed costs, despite higher expenses for raw material. The company reported Q3 earnings rise of $485 million, or 52 cents a share, compared to a loss of $82 million, or 9 cents a share last year. Total revenue increased 7.5% to $6.31 billion from last year''s $5.87 billion, with particular strength in Asia Pacific and Europe.