Tuesday's early afternoon trade: Nasdaq, S&P decline

The S&P and Nasdaq declined on Tuesday as commodity-related shares fell, with investors seeing pullbacks by some sectors that have gained the most in recent months. Among Nasdaq decliners, shares of Sears Holdings fell more than 9 percent after the company said it will post a loss for the first quarter. First Solar also was down 1.9 percent at $134.90.
However, shares of Alcoa Inc shot up 3.3 percent to $17.78, helping to support the Dow, on talk in the market that Rio Tinto was lining up a bid to buy the US aluminium producer. The S&P is up about 30 percent since the start of September, with shares of commodities companies driving much of the rally.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.83 point, or 0.01 percent, at 12,808.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.74 points, or 0.35 percent, at 1,356.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 26.37 points, or 0.92 percent, at 2,837.71.