No. 2 - Alcoa Kicks Off

What’s the trade as top Dow performer Alcoa kicks off earnings season?

The world's largest aluminum company and best Dow performer last quarter unofficially kicked off earnings season today, announcing better-than-expected numbers. The report comes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average is about 200 points from its record high reached earlier this year. Do Alcoa's results set a bullish tone for the rest of earnings season, or is it time to batten down the hatches until the reports are over?

Alcoa (AA) is out of the gate and it’s up a touch in after hours. Guy says the earnings were strong, but if the stock were where it was a month ago it would be “exploding.” He can’t get bullish on Alcoa, and their numbers aren’t enough to make a definitive call for the entire earnings season, but it does bode well for the U.S. economy, he says.

Tim doesn’t think Alcoa, as a raw materials company, can be a predictor for earnings season the way a transport might, but their numbers are good news for base material companies that have been overextended.

But is it possible that the expectations for the first quarter were set up to be so low that all earnings reports are going to be blowouts?

Eric thinks the economic indicators seem to be working OK, and he expects good strength across the board – except in housing. He isn’t running to buy Alcoa tomorrow, but he does like Century Alumnium (CENX) as a good mining play.

And Jeff doesn’t think the Alcoa numbers have any carryover effect. If the market is reliant on companies that are going to spike their earnings 9%, it’s going to be pretty bleak, he says.

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Trader disclosure:
On APR 10, 2007, the following stocks and commodities mentioned or intended to be mentioned on CNBC’s Fast Money were owned by the Fast Money traders:
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NBC Universal Is The Parent Company of CNBC
LaVorgna Is Deutsche Bank's Chief U.S. Economist