Whether it's bad news or just an excuse for a long-awaited correction, the stock market is punishing investors today. Less-than-perfect employment data combined with the Federal Reserve potentially bowing out of any future stimulus plans are throwing stocks for a loop. At around 2:45 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrials (INDEX: ^DJI) were down 142 points to 13,058, while the S&P 500 dropped 17 points to 1,397.

Among Dow stocks, Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) dropped 1% despite being named as the bull pick of the day by Zacks Equity Research. With record backlogs and a soaring mining equipment business coming from its acquisition of Bucyrus, Caterpillar is well poised to execute on expansion plans and capitalize on emerging-market growth.

General Electric (NYSE: GE) didn't get the same analyst love, as Moody's downgraded the bond ratings for the overall company as well as its GE Capital unit, each by one grade. GE, on the other hand, responded that a change in the rating agency's methodology was responsible for the change, and not any real change in GE's credit quality. Shares of GE fell more than 1% in afternoon trading.

Finally, DuPont (NYSE: DD) fell 1.3%. Strong earnings results from Monsanto (NYSE: MON) as well as the news that Monsanto was raising its profit forecast bode well for the agriculture industry. DuPont in particular stands to benefit from its crop-protection products, which compete against similar products from Monsanto and other companies.

Some perspective
It's important to remember that even with today's declines, the Dow is less than 2% below its recent highs -- and still up around 7% on the year. Moreover, even stocks that are down today can still be tomorrow's winners. The Motley Fool's latest special report on retirement gives you the names of three promising stock picks for long-term investors. Get your free report today before it's gone forever.