Stocks turn lower ahead of earnings this week

Stocks are trading lower today as investors prepare for key company earnings later in the week and brace for a potential bankruptcy filing from General Motors.

At 12:36 pm ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) is down 7.71, or 1.65%, at 460.49. The Dow is down 0.92% and the S&P 500 is down 0.46%.

Key banks, which kicked off a rally in early March when several institutions said they were profitable in the first two months of the year, will report quarterly earnings this week. Asian markets also gained more ground Monday as Japan's new $150 billion stimulus plan and upbeat news about Chinese bank lending boosted hopes for recovery in the region's major economies.

Small caps on the rise this afternoon include AgFeed Industries (Nasdaq:FEED), up 31% on heavy volume, while Rosetta Genomics (Nasdaq:ROSG) is up nearly 20% after signing a license and collaboration agreement with Prometheus Laboratories.

*****Thank you, Wells Fargo. The S&P 500 ramped nearly 4% on Friday as Wells Fargo said it expects its first-quarter earnings to be nearly double what analysts were expecting. And it wasn’t even Wells Fargo’s earnings day – the company pre-announced earnings that will be released on April 22. These days, if you have something to crow about, you do it. ASAP.

Financials have been at the forefront of the current rally, and that’s as it should be. Any good rally has to have the financials out in front. Of course, the financials are moving off such low levels that even huge percentage gains, like the 12% Citigroup was up or the 31% Wells Fargo jumped, are barely a drop in the weighted index bucket. 

Still, stocks are up and that’s good. 

*****There is some concern that Wells Fargo’s earnings surprise is more about accounting than an actual uptick in business. Some are saying that Wells Fargo’s loss reserves (money it sets aside to account for future losses) are too low, . . .

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