Here Comes Alcoa Earnings...

Alcoa just reported Q3 earnings per share, excluding certain items, of $0.31 on revenue of $6.2 billion.

Expectations were for the aluminum giant to report earnings per share of $0.23 on revenue of $5.85 billion, according to Yahoo Finance.

In instant reaction after hours, the stock was up about 1.1%.

As a major player in the aluminum market, Alcoa is often seen as an indicator of global economic activity.

In its Q3 report, the company reaffirmed its 2014 outlook for global aluminum demand growth of 7%.

In a press release, Alcoa CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said, "This quarter is a clear data point that Alcoa's transformation is delivering. Our downstream business again achieved historically high profitability, the midstream maintained disciplined cost control while capturing growth, and Primary Metals performed at levels not seen since before the downturn. This strong quarter is the direct result of our intense focus on repositioning our portfolio, and we're just hitting our stride."

Alcoa's report also comes on the heels of the minutes from the Fed's latest monetary policy meeting, which the market interpreted as dovish and sent markets flying higher to wipe out all of Tuesday's losses.

More to come ...