Stocks end lower amid mixed earnings reports

Tuesday October 21 -Wall Street declines as investors worry over earnings outlooks; credit markets ease

Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, said the absence of steep late-session selloffs in the past few days and the lighter trading volumes are signs that some order is returning to the market. At its worst during the past month, investors simply sold whatever they could and the crush of those cashing out weighed on the market. Much of that selling came in the final hour of trading, creating wild swings and massive pullbacks.

"There were a huge amount of redemptions both on the hedge fund side and the mutual fund side that were driving that in the darkest of days," she said, noting that investors now have more time to evaluate stocks on merit. "It's a more or less a normal reaction to company-specific news."

On Monday, markets spiked on more signs of a reviving credit market and support from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for further steps to aid the economy, including his support for another economic stimulus package from Washington.

"There is light at the end of the tunnel that this credit crisis is coming to an end," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners. "But, until we see the credit markets turn to full normalcy, the stock market is going to be stop and go."