Dow off 243 as earnings woes slam stocks

Updated: 9:25 p.m. ET

Stocks slumped today as more companies reported lower-than-expected revenue and cut earnings guidance. The drubbing sent the Dow Jones industrials ($INDU) to its second loss of more than 200 points in three sessions and set off worries that the pullback is a signal of a weakening economy ahead.

The Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) closed below 3,000 for the first time since Aug. 6. Apple (AAPL) shares slid after the company announced its new iPad Mini tablet device would be priced at $329. Many investors were hoping for a $299 price, arguing it would sell better at a lower price.

After the close, Facebook (FB) shares jumped $1.98, or 10.2%, to $21.13 after reporting that earnings of 12 cents a share after one-time expenses beat the Street estimate by a penny. Revenue of $1.26 billion was up 32% from a year ago and beat the Street estimate by $30 million. Shares were up 18 cents to $19.50 in regular trading.

But Netflix (NFLX) shares were down $11.22, or 16.3%, to $57.12 after hours as results from its video streaming business weren't as strong as expected and the company starts to produce original programming. Earnings fell to 13 cents a share from $1.16 a year ago. The company may see a fourth-quarter loss.

The Dow closed down 243 points to 13,103. The blue chips had been down as many as 263 points. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) was off 21 points to 1,413. The Nasdaq dropped 27 points to 2,990.

Article continues below.The Nasdaq-100 Index ($NDX) fell 29 points to 2,666. Apple was down $20.67 to $613.36.

Also after the close, Panera Bread (PNRA) shares jumped $8.91, or 5.6%, to $169.25.
The company's third-quarter revenue and earnings beat estimates, and the company raised its earnings guidance to $1.72 to $1.74 a share for the fourth quarter, up from 41.60 to $1.70.

The worst Dow loss since June
The Dow's loss was its worst since June 21, and it was the first time since late November 2011 there were two 200-point losses in three days. (The S&P and Nasdaq had larger losses on Friday.)

How much more the market will drop is not clear. The S&P 500 has broken below its trend line since the June 4 market bottom, a bearish signal. The Nasdaq came close to -- but did not drop below -- its 200-day moving average of 2,970, suggesting there is buyer support at that level.

At the same time, forces are building within the market that could stabilize matters, assuming the economy cooperates. The relative strength indexes for the Dow and S&P 500 are nearing 30. The Nasdaq's RSI was at 27 today. The index measures the current price against results over a set period of time, in this case, over 14 sessions. A reading below 30 suggests an index or security is oversold. (Apple's RSI was 31.84.)

The market opened badly from weaker-than-expected​ results from industrial giants 3M (MMM), DuPont (DD) and United Technologies (UTX).

At the same time, European stocks fell, with German and French stocks dropping more than 2% after Moody's downgraded credit ratings for regions in Spain. The stress in Europe set off a rally in the dollar and hit commodities.

Wednesday brings earnings from AT&T (T), Boeing (BA), Eli Lilly (LLY) and game-maker Zynga (ZNGA), among others. Zynga results will likely be weak. The company is cutting 5% of its work force.

The government reports on new-home sales and oil inventories. The Federal Reserve will make a policy announcement at 2:15 p.m.

A slump on commodity prices
Crude oil (-CL) in New York dropped to $86.67 a barrel, down $1.98, its lowest settlement price since July 12. Brent crude was off $1.11 to $108.33 a barrel after falling to as low as $107.31.

Pump prices were lower. The national average retail price of gasoline was $3.648 a gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report, down from Monday's $3.665 a gallon and down 4% this month alone.

Gold (-GC) settled down $16.90 to $1,710.20 an ounce.

The dollar's rise meant interest rates were lower. The 10-year Treasury yield was down to 1.764% from Monday's 1.798%.

Energy prices -- New York close
			Tues.			Mon.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Crude oil (-CL)			$86.67			$88.65			-5.99%			-12.30%
(per barrel)
Heating oil (-HO)			$3.0308			$3.0668			-4.06%			4.00%
(per gallon)
Natural gas (-NG)			$3.5350			$3.4520			6.48%			18.27%
(per mil. BTU)
Unleaded gasoline (-RB)			$2.6050			$2.6348			-10.79%			-1.97%
(per gallon)
Brent crude			$108.33			$109.44			-1.64%			0.88%
(per barrel)
Retail gasoline			$3.6480			$3.6650			-3.67%			11.36%
(per gallon; AAA)

DuPont reports a profit fall, will lay off 1,500
DuPont reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and announced 1,500 job cuts to offset falling sales around the world. The news was a shock to investors, and shares tumbled $4.51 to $45.25 and pulled the materials sector of the S&P 500 nearly 3% lower. It was the worst-performer among the 30 Dow stocks and second-worst among S&P 500 stocks.

United Technologies reported a 3.3% decline in third-quarter earnings and cut its sales forecast for the year, citing weak demand from airlines and an uncertain economy. The report sent shares 76 cents lower to $77.07.

3M lost $3.80 to $88.73 after the diversified U.S. manufacturer cut its profit forecast for the full year as acquisition costs and a strengthening dollar during the quarter hurt margins. 3M generates more than 60% of its revenue outside the United States.

The three companies accounted for nearly 70 points of the decline on the Dow industrials. Declines in Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) -- because of falling oil prices -- contributed an additional 41 points to the Dow's loss.

Whirlpool (WHR) jumped $7.50 to $93.81 after reporting a higher-than-expected​ quarterly profit, helped by price increases and tight cost controls. The world's largest appliance maker also raised its earnings outlook for the year.

Yahoo (YHOO) shares were up 90 cents to $16.67. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer’s first earnings call appearance reignited Street interest in the beleaguered Web portal’s future. The company got a lift from its sale of Alibaba shares, but, to the surprise of some analysts, Yahoo’s core business also performed better than expected.

The Fed meets; Bernanke speculation builds
The Federal Reserve's policy committee is scheduled to begin a two-day meeting on interest rates on Tuesday. The Federal Open Market Committee is likely to hold off from taking new action, opting instead to review the impact of last month's easing of credit while keeping a low profile in the last gathering before the Nov. 6 election.

There was chatter today about how long Chairman Ben Bernanke will remain in his post. His term as chairman expires in 2014. If Mitt Romney wins the presidential election, he may try to get Bernanke to leave his job early. It is not clear if he wants a third term.

It's hard to find stocks in the black
Materials, energy and financial stocks were the weak links in the market, but the 10 S&P 500 sectors were all lower. Only 67 S&P 500 stocks were higher, led by Whirlpool, Harley-Davidson (HOG) and Coach (COH).

Monster Beverage (MNST), DuPont, Regions Financial (RF) and Assurant (AIZ) were the laggards.

Consumer discretionary stocks were higher, thanks in part to Coach and Harley-Davidson, up $3.98 to $58.15 and $3.36 to $46.89, respectively.

Only two of the 30 Dow stocks were higher: Intel (INTC) and Microsoft (MSFT), the publisher of MSN Money.

Only 35 Nasdaq-100 stocks were higher, led by Yahoo and Virgin Media (VMED). Monster Beverage (MNST) and Randgold Resources (GOLD) were the laggards. Monster Beverage sagged for a second day after the Food & Drug Administration confirmed that it is investigating reports of people dying after drinking its energy drinks.

Short hits from the markets -- New York close
			Tues.			Mon.			Month chg.			YTD chg.
Treasury yields
13-week Treasury bill			0.1000%			0.090%			11.11%			900.00%
5-year Treasury note			0.758%			0.779%			20.32%			-8.67%
10-year Treasury note			1.764%			1.798%			7.76%			-5.72%
30-year Treasury bond			2.915%			2.947%			-3.86%			0.90%
Currencies
U.S. Dollar Index			80.08			79.736			0.07%			-0.55%
British pound			1.5946			1.6021			-1.32%			2.63%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in pounds			£0.627			£0.624			1.34%			-2.56%
Euro in dollars			$1.30			$1.31			0.99%			0.18%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. $ in euros			€ 0.770			€ 0.765			-0.98%			-0.18%
U.S. $ in yen			80.06			79.93			2.69%			3.84%
U.S. $ in Chinese			6.27			6.25			-0.14%			-0.85%
yuan
Canada dollar			$1.008			$1.008			-0.89%			2.71%
(in U.S. $)
U.S. dollar			$0.993			$0.992			0.97%			-2.64%
(in Canadian $)
Commodities
Gold (-GC)			$1,709.40			$1,726.300			-3.64%			9.10%
(per troy ounce)
Copper (-HG)			$3.570			$3.622			-5.02%			3.89%
(per pound)
Silver (-SI)			$31.7930			$32.252			-8.05%			13.89%
(per troy ounce)
Wheat (-ZW)			$8.6875			$8.783			-3.74%			33.09%
(per bushel)
Corn (-ZC)			$7.5600			$7.613			-0.03%			16.94%
(per bushel)
Cotton			$0.7427			$0.769			5.12%			-18.99%
(per pound)
Coffee			$1.6085			$1.645			-7.29%			-29.96%
(per pound)
Crude oil (-CL)			$86.67			$88.650			-5.99%			-12.30%
(per barrel)