US stocks struggle, Alcoa slumps

Stock markets erased early gains to trade on a flat note as dismal Alcoa results overshadowed rise in oil prices.

At the time of writing, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was trading just 10 points higher on the day around 17,567 levels. S&P index was unchanged at 2043.50. Tech heavy Nasdaq index was down 13 points.

Shares in Aluminum producer Alcoa dropped 5% after the company reported dismal first quarter results yesterday. Major DJIA winners so far are DuPont, Wal-Mart Stores. Meanwhile, losing side included names like Cisco, Nike, and Microsoft.

Treasury prices slumped, pushing the yields higher after Fed officials – Harker and Kaplan – talked about a possibility of faster rate hikes if inflation rises aggressively. The comments came after US data showed import price rose for the first time since June 2015.