The major indexes fell modestly on Monday as investors prepare for the upcoming earnings seasons, which is expected to be a disappointment. On Tuesday the Dow fell over 100 points after the International Monetary Fund reduced its outlook on economic growth for 2012. Another steep decline followed on Wednesday as gloomy earnings from Alcoa seemed to indicate that the overall third quarter earnings concerns are valid. On Thursday the Dow had its fourth consecutive losing session of the week, although losses would have been worse if the initial weekly jobless claims report had not been much better than expected. The Dow barely avoided an 0 for 5 week on Friday by eeking out a small gain. However the NASDAQ suffered its sixth straight losing session.
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