<div><p>Investors grew cautious Tuesday after quarterly sales from Johnson & Johnson fell short of expectations and an influential analyst warned that bank shares are overheated.</p><p>Most stocks posted modest losses Tuesday, a day after major indexes finished at their best levels in a year. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 15 points, though the Nasdaq composite index edged higher.</p><p>J&J was the first in a parade of big companies to report quarterly results this week, and a 5 percent drop in sales at the maker of health care products stirred concerns that companies have had to rely on cost-cutting to boost profits like they did in the first half of the year. Investors are worried that earnings will suffer if sales don't improve.</p><p>The market's unease intensified after analyst Meredith Whitney lowered her rating on Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to "neutral" from "buy." The bank's stock had risen 34 percent since Whitney upgraded the stock to "buy" in mid-July. Goldman reports results from the latest quarter on Thursday.</p><p>Health care stocks stumbled after J&J's report and as the Senate Finance committee approved a version of the health care overhaul bill. The bill moves to the Senate floor for debate.</p><p>There were pockets of green on trading screens. An agreement by Cisco Systems Inc., which makes computer networking gear, to buy Starent Networks Corp. for $2.9 billion lifted shares of technology companies.</p><p>The day's modest slide signaled that traders are afraid of walking away from a market that has spent little time in reverse since bouncing off 12-year lows seven months ago.</p><p>Earnings reports are likely to shape sentiment this week as investors look for any signs that companies are making money because of increasing demand. J&J's report left investors cautious.</p><p>"The market only makes sense at these levels if earnings can grow at a decent pace," said Jerry Webman, chief economist at OppenheimerFunds Inc. "What we're hearing now is OK, but you don't get long-term earnings growth out of cost cutting."</p><p>According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 14.74, or 0.2 percent, to 9,871.06. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.00, or 0.3 percent, to 1,073.19, while the Nasdaq rose 0.75, or less than 0.1 percent, to 2,139.89.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=61045236&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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