(Bloomberg News) U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index down for the third time in four days, amid disappointing results at companies from 3M Co. to DuPont Co. and as commodities erased their gain for the year.
3M, the maker of products ranging from Scotch tapes to dental braces, and DuPont, the most valuable U.S. chemical maker, slumped at least 3.4 percent. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Dow Chemical Co. each slid 3.2 percent as commodities retreated amid concern about a global slowdown. Coach Inc., the largest U.S. luxury handbag maker, surged 6.7 percent after reporting earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
The S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent to 1,414.08 at 9:43 a.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 181.43 points, or 1.4 percent, to 13,164.46. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 17 percent above the 30-day average at this time of day, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
"The earnings season has not gone as well as many would like," said Tom Wirth, who helps manage $1.6 billion as senior investment officer for Chemung Canal Trust Co., in Elmira, New York. "In general, sales have been disappointing. There's heightened concern about global growth."
Third-quarter results at about 70 percent of S&P 500 companies beat analysts' estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales missed forecasts at 60 percent of companies, the data showed.
3M dropped 3.4 percent to $89.40 after cutting its full- year forecast as sales fell in Europe and Asia in the third quarter.
DuPont Tumbles
DuPont retreated 7.4 percent to $46.06. The company said it will eliminate about 1,500 jobs after posting a smaller third- quarter profit than analysts estimated on falling demand for paint pigment.
Commodity companies sank as the Standard & Poor's GSCI spot gauge of 24 raw materials fell for a third consecutive session, dropping 1.5 percent today. It first erased gains for the year in May and the last time it happened was in July. The last annual drop was in 2008.
Freeport-McMoRan declined 3.2 percent to $39.28. Dow Chemical dropped 3.2 percent to $28.80.
Apple Inc. slid 1.3 percent to $625.96, after surging 4 percent yesterday. The company is taking the wraps off a smaller iPad today, betting that a less expensive version of its tablet computer will help the company fend off competitors including Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Google Inc.
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