Morning Market Roundup: 3M Down on Econ., Dupont to Cut 1,500 Jobs, Lousy Earnings Reports Fallout

Here’s what’s important in the business world this morning:

3M: 3M Co. is reducing its profit expectations for this year because of what it calls "current economic realities."

3M makes everything from Post-it notes and Scotch tape to roofing granules, coatings for LCD screens, and traffic sign coatings. The variety of its businesses and its worldwide footprint make it an economic bellwether. And CEO Inge Thulin said what it's seeing right now is a "slow-growth economy."

The St. Paul, Minn., company now expects to earn $6.27 to $6.35 per share for the year, versus its previous expectation for a profit of $6.35 to $6.50. Analysts had been expecting a profit of $6.40 per share, according to a survey by FactSet.

Revenue will be roughly flat because currency exchange rates will wipe out any increase.

Earlier this month, antitrust concerns led 3M to call off its $550 million deal to buy Avery Dennison Corp.'s office supply operations. And on Oct. 1, 3M said it would pay buy ceramic components maker Ceradyne for $847 million in cash.

For the most recent quarter, 3M's net income rose 6.7 percent to $1.16 billion, from $1.09 billion a year ago. Revenue fell slightly to $7.5 billion.

The profit of $1.65 per share matched analyst expectations, although 3M's revenue fell short of expectations for $7.63 billion.

The revenue shortfall was mostly because foreign exchange rates worked against 3M. All six of its business units reported at least small increases in sales, not counting foreign exchange or acquisitions. But revenue in U.S. dollars in some of those units declined.

Dupont: Chemical maker the DuPont Co. will cut 1,500 jobs and take other steps to increase competitiveness after a third quarter in which earnings fell sharply.

The Wilmington, Del.-based company reported net income of $10 million Tuesday, or a penny per share, compared with $452 million, or 48 cents per share, for the same period last year. Excluding one-time items, DuPont earned 44 cents per share, compared with 69 cents per share for last year's third quarter.

The results fell short of the average estimate of 46 cents per share, and Dupont's stock slid 4 percent in premarket trading.

Revenue totaled about $7.4 billion, down 9 percent from $8.1 billion.

U.S. Futures: Stock futures are falling, extending a sell-off from the day before, on weak corporate earnings.

Dow Jones industrial futures are down 139 points to 13,153. The broader S&P futures have given up 16.40 points to 1,413.70. Nasdaq futures are down 27 points to 2,660.75.

DuPont says it will cut 1,500 jobs as profits fell sharply this quarter and the company cut its earnings expectations for the year. Profits for UPS fell on slowing global trade and 3M Co. is reducing its profit expectations for the year due to "current economic realities."

Facebook and Netflix will post earnings after the bell Tuesday with investors in the tech sector already spooked by earnings last week from Google. Google suffered the biggest single day share sell-off since 2008 after revenue fell short.

Markets: Financial markets were on the defensive Tuesday ahead of another round of U.S. corporate earnings, including from Facebook, and amid uncertainty over the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

The U.S. has been center stage this week as the earnings season continues and as the election looms. So far earnings have been mixed, particularly from the technology sector.

By late morning in Europe, Germany's DAX was down 0.9 percent at 7,265 while the CAC-40 in France fell 0.6 percent to 3,464. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.8 percent at 5,837.

Wall Street was poised for a lower opening, with Dow futures down 0.5 percent and the broader S&P 500 futures 0.7 percent lower.

Earlier in Asia, stock indexes fared slightly better. Japan's Nikkei 225 index eked out a marginal gain to close at 9,014.25 a day after the country's currency fell to a three-month low against the dollar.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.