Yesterday it was reported that today would be the beginning of Q3 reporting so I was a little surprised when this did not happen, instead now saying it's coming later in the week.  Until those reports start coming, we're not going to have a barometer for Q4.  So the Dow went nuts again today as everyone is still skittish about the expected 5% drop in profits.  The index fell a hundred points right out the gate, then zoomed up 140 points by noon only to drop again to close at a more modest 50 point loss.  That's a lot of nervousness.  Yes, Q3 is weighing.  And China continues to weigh, not helped at all today by their report of a whopping 20% drop in imports last month.  But at 6.1 billion, trading was still considerably lighter than average as most investor await the first Q3 reports coming in the next few days -- and of course the very soon upcoming October Fed meeting.

Markets | Tue Oct 13, 2015 5:31pm EDT

Wall St. declines on China fears, weak profit expectations

BY CAROLINE VALETKEVITCH

DJ:  17,081.89  -49.97        NAS:  4,796.61  -42.03         S&P:  2,003.69  -13.77

REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, with the Dow snapping a seven-day winning streak, on renewed fears of slowing growth in China and another bout of selling in biotech shares.

Biotechs led the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower and the S&P health care index .SPXHC, down 1.2 percent, had the biggest losses among S&P sectors, followed by industrials .SPLRCI, down 1.1 percent. The Nasdaq Biotech Index .NBI was down 3.2 percent, extending recent declines.

Worries about third-quarter earnings reports continued to weigh on sentiment. Earnings forS&P 500 companies are expected to have dropped nearly 5 percent year over year, which would be the worst quarter for earnings in six years, according to Thomson Reuters data.

"There's a little nervousness about earnings reports that we'll be seeing over the next couple or three weeks," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.

"The international situation continues to weigh on people's minds, and commodities were weaker earlier. In the absence of any strong new economic data or blow-away-type earnings results, people are still cautious, waiting for the Fed to decide on whether it's going to raise rates or not," he said.

After the bell on Tuesday, shares of Intel (INTC.O) were nearly flat in choppy trade following results, while shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), which also reported results, were down 1.7 percent.

Earlier in the day, data showed Chinese imports fell 20 percent in September due to weak domestic demand, indicating growth in the world's second-largest economy was sputtering.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 49.97 points, or 0.29 percent, to 17,081.89, theS&P 500 .SPX lost 13.77 points, or 0.68 percent, to 2,003.69 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC dropped 42.03 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,796.61.

A devaluation of China's yuan currency in late August triggered a steep selloff in global equities. A bounce in commodities has helped stocks recover in recent sessions, as well as investors' bets that the Federal Reserve will keep benchmark U.S. interest rates near zero until next year.

Among results on tap this week are reports from more big banks and other earnings bellwethers, including Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Bank of America (BAC.N), and General Electric (GE.N).

Shares of Ryder System (R.N) were down 9.3 percent at $68.63 - the biggest percentage decliner on the S&P 500 - while FMC Corp (FMC.N) was down 3.1 percent at $36.35, both following disappointing forecasts late Monday. Ryder's stock hit its lowest close in nearly two years.

Molson Coors (TAP.N) rose 9.9 percent to $86.58 after SABMiller (SAB.L) agreed to be bought by AB Inbev (ABI.BR) for about $106 billion. The deal is likely to result in the disposal of SAB's 58 percent stake in its U.S. joint venture with Molson Coors.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 2,222 to 835, while on theNasdaq, 2,039 issues fell and 763 advanced. The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and four new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 61 new highs and 47 new lows.

About 6.1 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, below the 7.5 billion daily average for the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.