As of 1:45 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI +0.14%) is down 233 points (-1.74%) to 13,113. The S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.03%) is down 20 points (-1.4%) to 1,413.
While there were no U.S. economic releases this morning, the Dow is plunging on terrible earnings from DuPont (DD +0.00%) and weak earnings from 3M and United Technologies.
DuPont reported earnings per share of $0.01 per share, a 98% drop from the prior year's $0.48 and below analyst expectations of $0.44 per share. Excluding one-time items, earnings were $0.44 per share, which is still 35% below last year's ex-item EPS $0.69. The company also announced it was adjusting its earnings outlook to between $3.25 and $3.30 per share, down from its previous outlook of $4.20 to $4.40 per share. To right the company, DuPont announced a restructuring plan that should save $300 million to $340 million in 2013. The plan includes layoffs of 1,500 positions around the world. DuPont's stock is down 8.66% and is leading the Dow's slide.
Weak earnings from 3M, down 3.76%, and United Technologies, down 0.81% are also contributing to today' plunge. One stock, however, is defying the Dow's drop.
Today's Dow leader
Today's Dow leader is Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), up 1.% ($0.23) to $21.74. The chip maker reported decent earnings last week, with slowing PC sales taking a toll. While the earnings were weak at $0.58, down 11% from last year's $0.65, they were still better than analyst expectations of $0.52. Revenue was $13.5 billion, down 5.5% from last year's $14.2 billion and better than analyst expectations of $13.2 billion. Since the company reported earnings last week, the stock has risen 1% versus a 3% drop for the Dow.
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