The earnings season, which began earlier this week, is off to a strong start, with most companies reporting solid results and raising their guidance. At the same time, expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike have eased after the United States released encouraging consumer and producer inflation data. So why are the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices still falling?Earnings Season Has Started on a High NoteThe earnings season has started well, with a FactSet (NYSE:FDS) report showing that the average earnings growth was 24.7%. If this is the final number, it will be the second consecutive of…