By MATT JARZEMSKY

Stocks fell for a second day, weighed down by telecommunications and industrial shares, as investors awaited the start of the corporate earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 55.44 points, or 0.4%, to 13328.85, on Tuesday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gave up 4.74 points, or 0.3%, to 1457.15, extending its slide from a five-year closing high on Friday. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped seven points, or 0.2%, to 3091.81.

Stocks suffered second straight decline, weighed down by telecommunications and industrial shares, while Alcoa posted a return to profit. Steven Russolillo has details on The News Hub. Photo: AP.

"One thing is clear: Although we are expecting earnings growth, you're just not going to continue to see that stellar double-digit earnings growth that you had seen in the past couple of years," said Joseph Tanious, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan (JPM) Funds.

Alcoa (AA), the first Dow component to report results, unofficially kicked off earnings season after the close of trading Tuesday. The aluminum maker swung to a fourth-quarter profit as it benefited from cost-cutting efforts, though revenue edged down as aluminum prices remained low. The stock closed unchanged at $9.10 in 4 p.m. trading but rose after hours.

Studies show that stocks bought by insiders tend to beat the market. MarketWatch's Laura Mandaro looks at five stocks that insiders are confident will rise. (Photo: Getty Images)

Boeing (BA) weighed on the industrial sector and paced declines among Dow Components as it slid $2, or 2.6%, to $74.13. A fuel leak on one of the aerospace company's 787 Dreamliner aircraft headed from Boston to Tokyo returned to the terminal due to a fuel leak. The day before, a blaze ignited inside a Dreamliner parked at Boston's Logan International Airport.

(AA) (BA) Seven of eight telecommunications stocks in the S&P 500 traded lower, with MetroPCS Communications (PCS) slumping 23 cents, or 2.4%, to 9.33, to extend a two-day slide to 4.1% after reporting Monday weak subscribe figures in the fourth quarter.

GameStop (GME) slipped 1.56, or 6.3%, to 23.19, after the videogame retailer said weak store traffic drove holiday same-store sales down 4.4%, prompting the company to trim the high end of its fourth-quarter earnings projection.

Yum Brands (YUM) dropped 2.85, or 4.2%, to 65.04, after warning its same-store sales in China would fall more than expected. A government review of China poultry supply weighed on sales at Yum's KFC restaurants there, the fast-food chain operator said.

"It's the start of the earnings season and I think a lot of people are concerned about how that will start to shake out," said Randy Bateman, chief investment officer at Huntington Asset Advisors, which manages $14.5 billion in assets.

Congress's last-minute deal to avert mandatory spending cuts and tax increases left a host of issues unresolved, some market watchers have warned, setting the stage for further fighting in Washington that could influence stock prices.

In economic data, the National Association of Independent Business's small-business optimism index for December rose more than economists had expected. U.S. consumers' overall borrowing expanded in November at a quicker pace than the previous month. The growth topped economists' projections.

European markets ended mostly lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.1%. Retail sales in the currency area rose in November for the first time since July, while consumer confidence picked up slightly in December. That data was offset by an uptick in euro-zone unemployment to a record.

Asian markets fell on the heels of U.S. weakness on Monday, with Japanese exporters' shares hurt by a stronger yen. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both shed 0.9%.

Crude-oil prices fell less than 0.1%, to settle at $93.15 a barrel, while gold added 1%, to settle at $1,661.50 a troy ounce. The dollar gained ground against the euro but slipped versus the yen. The 10-year Treasury note rose in price following last week's drop, sending the yield down to 1.871%.

Kevin Lane of FusionIQ joins The News Hub to preview the coming earnings season. Photo: AP.

Meanwhile, a New York Stock Exchange server outage interrupted the delivery of certain trade data on dozens of stocks for about an hour Tuesday afternoon, the exchange said in a notice to customers.

In the corporate arena, Monsanto (MON) bucked the broader market trend, climbing 2.56, or 2.7%, to 98.50, after the agricultural products company reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results and raised its full-year profit forecast. The company cited strength in its Latin American corn and its U.S. seeds and traits businesses.

Star Scientific (STSI) climbed 22 cents, or 8%, to 2.96, after the company reported positive preliminary results from a study of its treatment for patients with autoimmune disease of the thyroid.

Perion Network (PERI) jumped 1.90, or 20%, to 11.35, after the developer of consumer Internet applications said it expected fourth-quarter revenue to exceed expectations and provided a 2013 earnings and sales outlook that was above analysts' projections.

Acuity Brands (AYI) dropped 3.51, or 5.1%, to 64.46, after reporting fiscal first-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations as the lighting company saw margins squeezed by higher costs.

Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com