By Tanya Agrawal
(Reuters) - Disappointing corporate results from several heavyweights dragged down Wall Street as investors looked for clues regarding the timing of the next interest rate hike ahead of a Fed meeting next week.
3M fell 3 percent to $165.03 after the maker of Scotch tape and Post-it notes trimmed its full-year revenue and earnings forecasts for the second time. The stock was the biggest drag on the Dow.
Whirlpool fell 10.5 percent to $152.60 after the home appliances maker's revenue took a hit from a strong dollar.
The dollar index was little changed at 98.69 against a basket of major currencies, after hitting its highest level since early February. A strong dollar could dent the earnings of large multinationals.
"We've had some mixed earnings today and the market right now is digesting earnings and positioning itself ahead of the Fed meeting next week," said Jeff Zipper, managing director for investments at Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank in Palm Beach, Florida.
Annualized third-quarter earnings from S&P 500 companies are expected to have risen 1.7 percent, following four quarters of contraction, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Of the 150 companies that have reported so far, 75.3 percent have beaten analyst expectations, above the long-term average of 63.5 percent.
"There is certainly some uncertainty around the election and the Fed and Brexit too," said Zipper.
While investors aren't expecting the Fed to raise rates when it meets next week, they will be looking for clues regarding the trajectory of future hikes. Traders are pricing in a 74 percent chance for a December hike, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.
At 12:44 p.m. ET (1644 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was down 48.21 points, or 0.26 percent, at 18,174.82, the S&P 500 was down 7.94 points, or 0.37 percent, at 2,143.39 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 28.71 points, or 0.54 percent, at 5,281.12.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were lower, with the materials index falling 0.98 percent. Sherwin-Williams fell 10 percent and weighed the most on the index.
The consumer discretionary sector also fell 1.09 percent as poor results from Sherwin-Williams weighed on Home Depot. Home Depot weighed the most on the S&P.
Caterpillar slipped 1.6 percent after giving a downbeat forecast, while General Motors fell 4.2 percent amid fears regarding future profits.
Procter & Gamble rose 3.8 percent to $87.32 after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
Apple, which is scheduled to report results after the close of the bell, slipped 0.15 percent to $117.47.
Under Armour fell 13.9 percent to $32.58 after the sportswear maker reported its slowest quarterly sales growth in six years.
Oil prices fell 1 percent, with U.S. crude breaking below $50 per barrel for a second straight day ahead of weekly data that could show a build in domestic inventories. [O/R]
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,828 to 1,039. On the Nasdaq, 1,894 issues fell and 789 advanced.
The S&P 500 index showed 10 new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 50 new highs and 55 new lows.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Don Sebastian)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
