Market Minute: Investors Rush Away From Gold; Earnings Parade

Stocks suffered their biggest loss of 2013 yesterday, and gold plunged to its lowest level in two years. The Dow Industrials tumbled 265 points, the S&P 500 slid 36 and the Nasdaq dropped 78 points.

We're watching mining and gold stocks again today. Freeport McMoRan (FCX) and Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) could recover some of yesterday's losses; both plunged 8 percent.

Carnival Cruise Lines (CCL) has reversed course and now says it will reimburse the U.S. for the cost of Coast Guard aid to help its Triumph and Splendor ships, both of which were disabled by fires.

Meanwhile, Royal Caribbean (RCL) is expected to unveil details of the latest ship in its fleet. The Quantum of the Seas will carry 4,100 passengers when it sets sail next year. Royal Caribbean is hoping to benefit from the series of mishaps involving Carnival.

Leading today's earnings parade: Coca-Cola (KO). Its net edged past expectations, and volume shipments rose a bit more than expected.

Goldman Sachs's (GS) earnings rose seven percent, also topping expectations. After the close today we'll get results from tech giants Intel (INTC) and Yahoo (YHOO).

Shares of HCA (HCA) are likely to slide. The healthcare operator warns that sales will fall short of expectations. It says growth in hospital admissions has slowed.

JCPenney (JCP) tapped its credit line for $850 million dollars, giving it enough cash for day-to-day operations as its new/old CEO tries to reverse the steep slide in sales. And Bloomberg reports the company may borrow against its real estate holdings to raise more cash. Analysts say these moves suggest that Penney sales are off to a bad start this year.

And Plains All-American (PAA) is building a pipeline to bring 200,000 barrels a day of oil from the Permian Basin in West Texas to the refineries near Houston. The company will invest up to $375 million in the project.

–Produced by Drew Trachtenberg

%Gallery-185683%