US STOCKS-Markets down on earnings caution, energy selloff

                                

                                
 * Alcoa falls ahead of reporting results
                                
 * Energy stocks fall as crude lower
                                
 * NYSE Euronext snubs bid from Nasdaq/ICE
                                
 * Dow down 0.2 pct, S&P down 0.5 pct, Nasdaq down 0.7 pct
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to late afternoon trading)
                                
 By Edward Krudy
                                
 NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Stocks slid on Monday as
energy shares sold off on lower crude oil prices and on fears
that corporate earnings may not justify a big run-up in
stocks.
                                
  Investors are worried that increased raw material costs
and a possible slowdown from Japan's earthquake may start to
show up in earnings, and companies' forward-looking statements
will be scrutinized carefully.
                                
 Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc <AA.N>, a Dow component, launches
the earnings season with the release of results after the
market's close.
                                
 "We say at each quarter that the outlook is going to be
more important than the actual earnings but this time seems to
be like it is going to be even more so," said Scott
Marcouiller, chief technical market strategist at Wells Fargo
Advisors in St. Louis
                                
 Profit-taking in oil after U.S. crude futures hit a
30-month high sparked selling in energy shares. Occidental
Petroleum <OXY.N> fell 3.3 percent to $100.31 while the S&P
energy index <.GSPE> fell 2 percent.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 27.17
points, or 0.22 percent, at 12,352.88. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 6.99 points, or 0.53 percent, at
1,321.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 18.39
points, or 0.66 percent, at 2,762.03.
                                
 U.S. crude oil futures ended 2.5 percent lower as investors
heeded a recommendation from top brokerage Goldman Sachs that
they take profits after the recent rally.
                                
 Profits for S&P 500 companies are seen rising 11.4 percent
from a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data, but much of
that may be priced into shares. The S&P 500 is up over 5
percent this year. For details, see [ID:nN07256466]
                                
 Optimism over earnings contributed to recent gains,
despite turmoil in oil-producing regions and the disasters in
Japan. Despite the S&P 500's gains this year, light trading
volume has prompted questions about the strength of the rally.
                                
 Alcoa shares slid 1.4 percent to $17.67 after rising
earlier. The company is seen posting growth in both earnings
and revenue. JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> and Google Inc
<GOOG.O> are on tap to report later in the week.
                                
 In corporate news, Tenet Healthcare Corp <THC.N> said it
has sued its suitor, Community Health Systems Inc <CYH.N>,
claiming the rival hospital operator admitted patients for
unneeded stays to overbill insurers, including Medicare.
                                
 Shares of Tenet sank 13.6 percent to $6.52 while Community
slumped 34 percent to $26.70. [ID:nN11291765]
                                
 NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> on Sunday rejected a joint buyout bid
from Nasdaq OMX Group <NDAQ.O> and IntercontinentalExchange
<ICE.N> and said it was sticking with an earlier bid from
Deutsche Boerse AG <DB1Gn.DE>. Nasdaq reaffirmed that its offer
was superior to Deutsche Boerse's lower offer. [ID:nN10204369]
                                
 NYSE shares fell 2.9 percent to $37.57 while Nasdaq OMX
fell 2 percent to $27.87 and ICE was 0.3 percent lower at
$120.13.
                                
 Also in deal news, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holding Inc
<ENDP.O> said it would buy American Medical Systems Holdings
Inc <AMMD.O> for about $2.6 billion while Level 3
Communications Inc <LVLT.O> agreed to buy Global Crossing Ltd
<GLBC.O> for $1.9 billion in stock. [ID:nL3E7FB1PZ] and
[ID:nL3E7FB29F]
                                
 Endo fell 0.4 percent to $40.70 while American Medical
jumped 32 percent to $29.46. Level 3 rose 11.8 percent to $1.60
and Global Crossing surged 59 percent to $23.54.
                                
 Biogen Idec Inc <BIIB.O> rose 7 percent to $78.43 and was
the top percentage gainer on the Nasdaq 100 <.NDX> after the
company's experimental multiple sclerosis drug met the main
goal in the first of two important late-stage studies.
[ID:nN11283786]
  (Editing by Leslie Adler)