Coke takes pop out of US stocks Coca-Cola helped take the pop out of the recent stock market rally, with shares falling sharply after the company reported disappointing earnings and the chief executive said he was "not happy" with its performance. Shares in the world's largest soft drink company by sales fell 2.4. per cent to $40.02. The soda maker has faced a decline in US consumption while also battling poor weather in North America and Europe in the second quarter. The company's share price is off 5.6 per cent in the past three months. PepsiCo, its main rival, fell 1.1 per cent to $83.75. Coke's fall helped send the S&P 500 down 0.4 per cent to 1,675.66, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.3 per cent to 15,444.32. The Nasdaq retreated 0.4 per cent to 3,594.71, breaking a recent run in which it has outperformed the other two major US indices. The Nasdaq 100, which consists of the major non-financial companies on the greater index, has finished up for 14 straight sessions and risen about 8 per cent in that time. However, it was in danger of breaking that streak, down 0.2 per cent. Elsewhere in earnings news, Goldman Sachs beat profit expectations. But shares in the bank dropped 1.4 per cent to $160.76. Other US banks, such as JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, have also reported impressive second-quarter results, but have been dogged by concerns about forthcoming regulations. Additionally, financials have been among the strongest stocks during 2013"s market rally, and Goldman remains up almost 27 per cent on the year to date. Tesla shares fell 8.4 per cent to $116.59 after Goldman downgraded the company's six-month target to $84. The electric carmaker has been among 2013"s bright spots, up 245 per cent. McGraw-Hill Financial was also on track to end a recent rally, down 2.7 per cent to $57.24. The company was downgraded by Raymond James from "strong buy" to "outperform." The company, which operates Standard & Poor's Ratings Services in addition to other financial analysis brands, is up about 10 per cent since spinning off its education unit. The recent rally in US stocks has come after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke quelled concerns over plans to pare back the quantitative easing programme in the autumn. However, the brief sell-off in June and rising interest rates have been seen by some as a sign that the market has begun to price in the end of quantitative easing. Analysts say US stocks are primed to move higher despite trading at near record levels. "This market has no respect whatsoever . . . nobody believes it's a bull market but the reality is it's a bull market," said Adam Hewison, chief strategist at INO, a financial advisory firm. The perception is the market's going higher and I think that's also backed up with the technicals. The technicals are very, very strong in the market as far as we're concerned. Netflix was one of the best performers on the day, up 1.3 per cent to $21.20. The streaming content service has risen steadily on recent success for its native content and fresh deals to distribute other media. The company is up more than 22 per cent in the past month. Gold prices rose on Tuesday, providing some aid to the materials sector. Goldcorp rose 3.9 per cent to $2.69, but remains more than 28 per cent lower in the past six months.