 12:05pm: US markets trend downward US stocks continued to plummet midday on Tuesday, as investors eyed earnings reports from some major corporates and fretted over looming interest rate rises. At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index shed 1.4, or 494 points, at 35,418, while both the broader SP 500 and Nasdaq Composite continued to trade in the red, losing 1.4 and 1.8, respectively. 