As of 1:45 p.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) is down 233 points (-1.74%) to 13,113. The S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.46%) 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) 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 (INTC 1.77%) 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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