Stocks opened lower on Tuesday in the wake of a disappointing revenue miss from Alcoa Inc and Japan's upgrade of the severity of its nuclear crisis.

Alcoa shares fell 5.7 percent to $16.76.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 87.34 points, or 0.71 percent, at 12,293.77. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 9.09 points, or 0.69 percent, at 1,315.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 17.25 points, or 0.62 percent, at 2,754.26.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Japan