Wall Street retreated Monday after putting up big gains last week as investors readied for quarterly corporate earnings reports. With the Treasury bond market closed for the Columbus Day holiday and little economic or corporate news to guide them, stock market investors remained cautious ahead of the flood of third-quarter earnings, which begins Tuesday with results from Alcoa Inc., one of the 30 Dow Jones industrial average components.

Earnings are expected to reflect the difficulty some companies have faced—particularly in the financial and housing sectors—following upheaval in the credit markets amid a souring of some home mortgages and overly leveraged corporate debt. The reports will also give insight into the fourth quarter, which market participants predict will bring more robust growth.

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