The DJIA jumped above 12,000 in the opening minutes of trading this morning and had topped 12,200 by mid-afternoon. European Union leaders have agreed on a deal that would make up to $1.4 trillion as a bailout fund for troubled European banks, offer a 50% haircut to Greek debt holders, and recapitalize the continent’s banks. Apparent euphoria over the deal in Europe caused investors to miss the weak number on pending home sales. The euro rose to more than $1.42, its highest level in nearly two months, and oil prices were about $3/barrel higher this morning and had gained nearly another dollar by mid-afternoon. The day closed with a few uncertainties still remaining on the agreement announced earlier in Europe.

The unofficial closing bells put the DJIA up nearly more than 340 points to 12,209.23 (2.87%), the NASDAQ rose nearly 88 points (3.32%) to 2,738.63, and the S&P 500 rose 3.43% or more than 42 points to 1,284.54.

There were several analyst upgrades and downgrades today, including Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) maintained at ‘neutral’ with price target cut from $16 to $14 at Credit Suisse; Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) cut to ‘neutral’ at Citigroup (ahem!); Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) started at ‘outperform’ with a $60 price target at Credit Suisse and maintained at ‘buy’ with a $50 target at Canaccord Genuity; Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) cut to ‘market perform’ at FBR; and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE: RRC) reiterated at ‘sell’ by Canaccord Genuity.

Here are today’s big post-earnings news reactions with prices during the last half-hour of trading: Proctor & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) up about 0.5%, at $65.25; Colgate Palmolive Co. (NYSE: CL) up about 1%, at $91.49; Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) up 0.84%, at $81.75; Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) up nearly 11%, at $96.59; Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) up nearly 2.5%, at $48.98; Johnson Controls Inc. (NYSE: JCI) up 2.2%, at $33.32; Bristol Meyers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) up 1.8%, at $33.10; and Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO) up 1.5%, at $27.69.

Several other standouts from today are as follows…

QuickLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QUIK) is up nearly 25%, at $2.87. The company announced an agreement under which mobile phone maker Kyocera will use QuickLogic chips in new products for the Japanese market.

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYB) is up nearly 28%, at $16.75. The company is set to announce earnings on November 9th, and is glimmering in the glow of a solid earnings report today from Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW).

LDK Solar Co. Inc. (NYSE: LDK) is up more than 21%, at $4.00. Germany has announced another cut to its solar power feed-in tariff at the first of the year, and that could unleash a horde of new projects to take advantage of the current higher tariff rate.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is up more than 19%, at $11.74. The company reported an EPS loss yesterday, even though sales were up 24%. Investors must like the revenue report more than they hate the EPS loss.

McDermott International Inc. (NYSE: MDR) is down nearly -26%, at $10.85. The engineering and construction company lowered its third-quarter profit and revenue guidance. Analysts were expecting EPS of $0.29 and McDermott is now saying EPS will be just $0.03-$0.05.

Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) is down about -18%, at $18.87. The company missed its earnings expectations, but the worse news is that the SEC have begun a formal investigation into bribery charges against the company for actions it took in foreign markets.

Stay tuned for Friday.  We have noted the following events (all times Eastern):

• 8:30 a.m. – Consumer spending
• 8:30 a.m. – Employment cost index
• 9:55 a.m. – Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index

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Paul Ausick

Alcoa’s earnings were $0.15 EPS versus $0.22 EPS expected from Thomson Reuters.  This is $172 million in income from continuing operations, which is up 182% from a year ago (Q3-2010) and down 27$ from the sequential quarter before (Q2-2011).

Revenues were also up 21% from a year ago to $6.42 billion, but this is a sequential decline as well by 3%.  Alcoa generated $489 million in cash from operations and its cash on hand is now $1.3 billion.

Again, it is Europe that was given most of the blame.  We have seen comments from Alcoa and other market participants that aluminum prices have fallen precipitously.  The company claims that most markets continued to grow despite the weakening alumina prices during the quarter.

Alcoa is still (another ‘of course’) maintaining that the aluminum market will double in size by 2020 and it noted that its 12% growth for 2011 will have a slower pace in the second half.  Surely, we knew that by now.  The company even called itself “well prepared for whatever lies ahead” and called itself a “confident company in a nervous world.”

What is interesting is that China was mostly talked up rather than down.  The Aerospace segment is called having an eight-year backlog and the trend of auto regulations causing lighter cars is making that sector strong.  Demand for aluminum cans in Europe, China, and the Middle East is also offsetting flat to declining markets in the United States.  Europe and the United States are keeping a cap on building and construction growth with China’s non-residential strength offsetting weakness.

Alcoa has given no formal guidance.  The company is not describing a recession and that is important.  It is equally important that it is describing a market that is slow enough that it may look and feel recessionary to many.  The bias looks exactly within our expectations: A CHOPPY EARNINGS SEASON IS COMING!  If you have seen the headlines over the last sixty days, it feels obvious.

The stock closed up 2% at $10.30 today, but the 52-week range was $8.45 to $18.47 and its stock has bounced from under $9.00 in just the last few trading sessions.  To show just how bad things have been right before the last huge bounce, Alcoa was above $16.00 just three months ago.

We do not believe for a moment that anyone should have expected this $0.22 estimate to have been met nor can we be surprised about any of the mixed comments pointing to a low-growth or even no-growth market.  The earnings estimate was $0.26 EPS a week ago and $0.29 EPS a month ago.

The after-hours reaction has shares down over 4% at $9.87 but it is genuinely difficult to stomach that investors were really expecting much more on the side of good news.

We have long said that the markets have lost their ability to find equilibrium.  Tee efficient market theory is dead.

In after-hours sympathy, shares of Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) are down over 4% after rising 3.5% on the day.

JON C. OGG

24/7 Wall St. has compiled detailed earnings previews for the following companies: Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS); Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA); ADTRAN Inc. (NASDAQ: ADTN); Host Hotels and Resorts Inc. (NYSE: HST); Pepsico Inc. (NYSE: PEP); Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG); J. B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (NASDAQ: JBHT); J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM); Safeway Inc. (NYSE: SWY); and Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT).

Some of these companies will not really seem on the surface to be sector-movers or market-moving companies, but these have been selected because they are the first ones of their peer groups to be reporting earnings. 

We have created a detailed earnings preview for each with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters and added color in on each for investors to see what exactly is worth consideration this earnings season.  We have also added in recent price history and named where to look for additonal action (or fallout).

Monday, October 10

Novellus Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NVLS) is the first chip equipment player to report for this earnings season.  it has been a few weeks since we have had earnings reports or guidance in the sector so we will be paying close attention since so many companies that are chip equipment customers have talked down their numbers in recent weeks.  Our belief is that expectations are very low for the quarter ahead. Estimates are $0.68 EPS and $311.9 million in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.50 EPS and $278.5 million in revenue.  With shares hovering around $30.00 on Friday, the 52-week range is $25.26 to $41.82 and shares were above $36 in early July.  After Novellus reports, we would be watching the following: Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT), KLA-Tencor Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC), and Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX).

Tuesday, October 11

Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) has already talked down aluminum prices and we have already seen slowing demand out of China talked about by many sectors.  Alcoa keeps maintaining that it can double its business by 2020 and we do not expect that to be changed by management even if it guides lower expectations ahead.  Estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.24 billion in revenue; next quarter estimates are $0.23 EPS and $6.11 billion in revenue. At $9.80 on Friday, the 52-week range is $8.45 to $19.47 and this one was above $16 at the start of July.  There are many metals stocks to watch, some in aluminum and some in other metals: Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS); Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU); Titanium Metals Corporation (NYSE: TIE); and Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE).

Goldman Sachs’ research team noted that the most recent price drop in many of the metals and mining shares has created very attractive entry points for many of the best stocks in the sector.  The firm is remaining bullish on copper fundamentals, which is hard to say is a value call.  To be bullish on copper almost always translates back to the global growth trade.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was reiterated as a “Buy.”  Goldman is less aggressive on Aluminum, but has some bright spots.  Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) was reiterated as “Buy” as a move away from the linkage to spot aluminum prices due to strong aerospace business opportunities coming down the pipe in the years ahead.  Freeport-McMoRan shares are up 3.75% at $48.35, bot bad for a $45 billion market cap.  Alcoa is up almost 4% at $12.84 this morning.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) was raised to “Neutral” from “Sell,” but it needs to be noted that the target went to $11.50 from $14.50 before; the 52-week range is $8.72 to $20.76.  Shares are still up 5% at $12.38 on the news.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) was raised to “Buy” from “Neutral,” but the price target was taken to $52 from $60 against a 52-week range of $36.62 to $60.60. Reliance shares are up a sharp 5% at $43.26 this morning.

Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) in steel and metals processing was not given the same love.  Goldman Sachs cut the rating there to “Sell” from an already cautious “Neutral” rating.  Worthington shares are down 2.5% at $16.28 on the call and the 52-week range is $14.07 to $23.75.

The key ETF is on the move too.  The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining (NYSE: XME) is up 1.8% at $59.66 and its 52-week range is $47.31 to $77.44.  In copper mining ETF trends, the Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSE: COPX) is up over 3% at $17.15 against a 52-week range of $12.35 to $20.98.

JON C. OGG

Forward PE multiples range from 6.7 to almost 12 and the return on equity (ROE) is as low as 3.6% to as high as 18.5%.  Five of these companies boast ROE’s greater than 8.5%.  Analysts estimate next year’s earnings will range from a 15% year-over-year increase to an increase of about 60%.  Most of these companies are expected to post an increase in next year’s earnings above 30%. Consensus target prices from analysts indicate that each of these have above-market upside from Thomson Reuters, with most looking to be above 20%.  Most of these companies also show a price to book ratio of 2.4 to 1 or lower.  Except where otherwise noted our source for all financial and performance data is Finviz.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is the largest of these companies with a market cap of $17.3 billion.  This is also one of our freshly featured “Top Stocks That Will Set Market Trends For This Summer” as it leads off in earnings season this coming week.  Its price to book ratio is 1.17 to 1, best of the lot.  With a consensus target price of $19.67 the shares have an implied greater than 20%.  Alcoa shares recently traded at $16.49 and its 52-week trading range is $9.86 to $18.44.  We do not expect this to occur, but we do have to admit that this was considered a loose takeover candidate in the recent past.  It also hit $40.00 before the recession.  Alcoa offers a very unexciting dividend of about 0.7%.

Arch Coal Inc. (NYSE: ACI) may seem an odd fit in our base metals screen, but that is because of its metallurgical coal operations that feed the steel industry.  Technically it does actually lead the rest of our screened companies in three of our financial measures: forward P/E, analysts’ implied price upside, and analysts’ estimated earnings growth.  The reason or explanation may simply be because many estimates have not properly adjusted since its International Coal acquisition.  Our review was on a standalone basis and we always want to point out that estimates and projections can often lag by a quarter when M&A is in the mix.  The company’s forward price to earnings multiple is less than 7 as analysts see next year’s earnings growth of about 60%.  Again, consider the merger.  With a consensus target price of $39.28, the shares have an implied upside of more than 40%.  Arch Coal shares recently traded at $27.34 and its 52-week price range is $19.03 to $36.86.  After the acquisition was completed, S&P affirned a “BB-” corporate credit rating.

Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is second best among these companies with a low price to book ratio of 1.26 to 1.  It also trades at less than 9-times 2012 projected earnings from Thomson Reuters consensus data.  Unfortunately, Century is stingy when it comes to dividends.  Its $1.48 billion market cap makes Century the smallest of these companies.  Its consensus target price of $19.75 implies an upside greater than 24%.  The company’s shares recently traded at $15.87 and the 52-week trading range is $8.57 to $20.76.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) has a market cap of $13 billion making it the second largest company in this lot.  The manufacturing and sales company of steel and steel products actually has an unimpressive 3.6% return on equity (ROE) per the Finviz screen, which, if entirely accurate, screened out as the lowest among these companies.  It also pays a 3.6% dividend yield.  With a consensus target price of $50.38, the shares still have an implied upside of 23%.  Nucor shares recently traded at $40.82.  The 52-week price range is $34.48 to $48.40.  While it trades at 15.6-times 2011 earnings estimates, the multiple drops down to under 11-times the 2012 earnings estimates.

Steel Dynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: STLD) is in an interesting place since it recently gave earnings and offered guidance which was technically a bit light.  Still, shares have recovered about 10% since its report and it seems that the valuations may be a part of the “why” that recovery has been seen.  The steel products operator has a price to book ratio of 1.62 to 1, third best among these companies.  With a consensus target price of $21.83, the shares have an implied upside of 34%.  That is actually the second highest among these companies. Shares of Steel Dynamics recently traded at $16.25.  The 52-week price range is $12.92 to $20.45. Steel Dynamics also pays a 2.5% dividend yield.

Worthington Industries, Inc. (NYSE: WOR) is one of the smaller companies with a market cap of just under $1.7 billion.  It also leads these companies with a 16.4% return on equity (ROE).  It also trades at about 13-times next year’s projected earnings.  With a consensus target price of $26 the shares of this metals processor have an implied upside of 12% to the consensus price target.  Worthington shares recently traded at $23.22.  The 52-week price range is $12.00 to $23.75.  Worthington’s dividend yield measures today at about 2.1%.

Having the term “value” does not imply immediate gains nor does it imply that there are no risks.  The market has also just recently enjoyed a great bounce.  When it comes to M&A and it when it comes to long-term investing it is the value segment that often outperforms the market and which can hold up better if and when the markets head south again. Earnings season is about to be underway and many of these figures may change in the coming weeks.

JON C. OGG

With the end of the second calendar quarter on top of us, and a quarterly report on its way from first-out-of-the-gate Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), it seems like a good time to think about what’s going on with aluminum. For the most part, other aluminum producers, Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Alumina Ltd. (NYSE: AWC), Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU), Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR), and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (NYSE: ACH), have also done well in the past 12 months. Noranda’s share price has more than doubled and even laggard Chinalco is up about 10%.

But at one time Noranda was up more than 150%, Century was up more than 120%, and Alumina Ltd. was up about 120%. All these high flyers gave a good share of that growth back when commodity prices collapsed in early May. But is something else going on?

Inventories have fallen from a record high of 4.71 million tons in mid-May to 4.53 million tons. A large part of that was due to a collapse in the carry trade, where it became unprofitable for traders to roll contracts forward.

The decline in global stockpiles has not so far lifted aluminum’s price. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Since the end of May the price has fallen about $0.045/pound.

But apparently not every trader is taking the weakness in aluminum lying down. Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) has filed a complaint with the London Metal Exchange against Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Goldman-owned warehousing company, Metro International Trade Services LLC. The folks at Coke are accusing Metro of bringing aluminum into its warehouses and then refusing to let the stuff leave, which causes delays in delivery, higher storage charges, and higher prices for aluminum.

Coke claims that Goldman/Metro paid cash incentives to producers like Alcoa and Rio Tinto plc (NYSE: RIO) to store aluminum in Metro’s warehouses during the 2008-2009 recession. Nobody wanted aluminum then, so producers were happy to get money. Since early 2010, Metro’s inventory has reportedly grown from about 850,000 tons of aluminum to 1.15 million tons.

According to Crain’s Detroit Business, “Between its 2010 peak and now, the amount of aluminum waiting to leave Metro International’s Detroit warehouses has risen 97 percent…. That metal’s value has risen 372 percent since its low in 2008.” Add in the cost of renting space at $0.42/ton/day in the Metro warehouses, and Goldman reaps a nice $230 million annually in revenue from the warehouses.

What this could mean is that the tightness thought to exist in the supply of aluminum is really not there. That could put some pressure on share prices of the aluminum producers who face either having to cut production or charge lower prices.

Alcoa, which reports quarterly earnings on July 11th, is expected to post EPS of $0.35 on revenue of $6.32 billion. Alcoa shares are trading up about 0.3% today, at $15.94, in a 52-week range of $9.81-$18.47. The median price target is $21/share, meaning there’s still a lot of room tor growth. But rising aluminum prices what seemed like a certainty just a few months ago might not be as buoyant as everyone thought.

Paul Ausick

Gold has set a record high today above $1,470/ounce and silver has burst through the $40/ounce level. Demand for gold is rising due to its safe-haven status, and much of the rise in silver prices is due to its perceived value as a long-term investment, if not a safe-haven. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE: GLD) is currently posting a 52-week high of $143.69, up nearly 1% from yesterday’s close, and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) has also pegged a 52-week high currently of $39.48.

The weaker dollar lifts the price of all commodities because most are priced in dollars. WTI crude oil is headed toward $112/barrel and Brent crude is on its way to $125/barrel. The United States Oil ETF (NYSE: USO) is up more than 1% today, at $44.52 after setting a new 52-week high of $44.58, and is up about 13% since the beginning of the year.

Corn futures had been sliding slightly since closing at $7.59/bushel yesterday. The grain has turned north at about mid-day, though, currently trading at $7.65/bushel. The USDA today re-iterated its forecast that corn stockpiles in September will total 675 million bushels, less than half the total stockpile in September 2010. The lower price for corn futures early today were almost certainly due to the unchanged USDA forecast. Then reality set in, in the form of lower global stocks of corn and the weaker dollar. The Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSE: CORN) is up marginally today, to $45.66, near the top of its 52-week range of $23.79-$46.25. The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO) is also up about 0.2%, to $55.97, in a 52-week range of $35.56-$57.93.

A new report from Deutsche Bank notes that aluminum prices could rise to $3,200/metric ton later this year, a rise of about 23% from current prices. The bank believes that rising production costs, particularly the cost of energy, will raise producers’ costs, and those costs will be passed along to customers. Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) reports first quarter results on Monday, and is expected to post EPS of $0.27 on revenue of $6.14 billion. Alcoa’s shares are up about 14% since January 1st, and analysts expect a solid report based on the company’s pricing power.

The iPath DJ-UBS Aluminum Total Return Sub-Index ETN (NYSE: JJU) set a new 52-week high today of $35.84, currently up about 0.6%. Other aluminum producers include Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX), Alumina Ltd. (NYSE: AWC), Kaiser Aluminum Corp. (NASDAQ: KALU), Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR), and Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. (NYSE: ACH). All except Kaiser have posted share price gains of more than 5% since the beginning of the year, with Century leading the pack with a gain of about 30%. For the past 52 weeks, all remain at or near 52-week highs.

Paul Ausick

Aluminum Corporation Of China Limited (NYSE: ACH) is up 1.2% at $23.42.  Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (NYSE: RS) is up 0.3% at $53.01 on thin volume against a 52-week range of $34.58 to $55.47.  Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is actually up 0.3% at $16.60 in very thin trading versus a 52-week trading range of $8.25 to $18.77.  Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp. (NYSE: NOR) nor Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) have not yet traded.

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) shares are indicated down 1.3% at $16.27 before the open and its 52-week range is $9.81 to $17.60.

JON C. OGG

Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA) is up after beating earnings last night and on a demand increase of 12% versus a earlier expectations of a 10% gain offsetting the price drop in tonnage. Alcoa is up 3.7% at $11.28 on now more than 500,000 shares.  Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is on the move as well and up even more because it is NASDAQ and it is deemed more leveraged by some traders.  Shares are up 4.9% at $10.06 on light trading volume; average volume on CENX is about 4 million shares per day.

BP plc (NYSE: BP) is up after it installed a new cap over the Gulf well disaster, which still has to be tested.  Shares are up almost 3% at $37.84 on strong volume this pre-market session.

CommVault Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CVLT) is getting crushed this morning after its preliminary earnings report failed to make the grade.  Shares are down about 24% at $17.85 on well over 200,000 pre-market shares.  The 52-week range is $15.60 to $24.51 and the average volume is about 535,000 shares.

MBIA Inc. (NYSE: MBI) is after Bruce Berkowitz’ Fairholme disclosed a new stake of 11% in the financial guaranty company.  This makes a new largest single holder of MBIA.  Shares are up a sharp 10.5% at $7.11 on almost 400,000 shares.  Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE: ABK) is the surprise as this was not a Berkowitz pick but is just a troubled competitor rising with the tide (on a leveraged basis).  Shares are up over 13% at $0.74 on over 100,000 shares.

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: OREX) is up in sympathy with VIVUS, although it does not have any fresh news of its own.  Its weight loss pill is expected to be reviewed later in the year.  Shares are up almost 10% at $4.55, but volume is much less at under 50,000 shares so far in the pre-market.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is one of the larger drops this morning.  Shares are down 5% at $5.37 on over 50,000 shares.

VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ: VVUS) is trading higher and will be one to watch for stock and options today and this week on its Qnexa FDA panel review.  Options are calling for a huge move in the stock.  The company is up on word that its data shows that the pill works, and the counter-measure is that the FDA is asking about its side-effects.  Shares are up 16% at $12.40 already on almost 2 million shares.

JON C. OGG

What is more important than anything here is that the recent lower prices in aluminum is being offset by stronger demand.  The company is now looking at global aluminum consumption going up 12% rather than a prior target of 10% growth amid improved global aluminum demand.

After the first half of the year, Alcoa said it is tracking toward its expanded goals for 2010, including: $1.4 billion of the targeted $2.5 billion in procurement savings; $311 million of the targeted $500 million in annual overhead reduction savings; days of working capital at 42, a six-day improvement from the same period last year; and $514 million toward the targeted $1.25 billion in capital spending.

Some other basic data is as follows: $1.34 billion cash on hand; dent decreased $465 million from the year-ago period; debt to capital was 38.4%.  The company did see lower average realized metal prices of $22 per metric ton, with an average of $2,309 per ton in the quarter.

Alcoa shares are halted after the close, but investors need to remember that the stock slid from $14 to $10 before recovering to almost $11 in the last week.  It is also worth noting that the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate 90-days ago was $0.23 rather than the $0.12 consensus that we had today ahead of its earnings.  The bar was set very low here.

It is too soon to start giving grades out on the report, but aluminum shares are rising after this report:

• Aluminum Corporation Of China Limited (NYSE: ACH) is up 2% in after-hours;
• Century Aluminum Co. (NASDAQ: CENX) is up over 3% after closing down almost 2% in regular trading.
• Kaiser Aluminum Corporation (NASDAQ: KALU) is actually flat to lower in the after-hours.

UPDATE AFTER HALT: At 4:47 PM EST Alcoa shares are up 3.5% at $11.25 after closing down 0.64% at $10.87 on almost 700,000 shares since the halt was lifted.

JON C. OGG