US Stocks Fall As Some Earnings Disappoint, Europe In Focus

--Stocks drop after mixed corporate earnings

--3M falls 6.6% after earnings; DuPont gains 0.4% following results

--Investors await EU summit on Wednesday


By Steven Russolillo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday following a mixed bag of corporate results, while investors also await results from the upcoming European Union summit.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122 points, or 1%, to 11793. The early losses come after the Dow rose 104.83 points in the previous session and closed at its highest level since Aug. 1. The blue-chip index has risen more than 400 points over the last three trading days.

Shares of 3M, down 6.6%, led the Dow lower after the conglomerate reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations. The company also lowered its full-year outlook, noting that a number of its customers reduced inventories in anticipation of slowing demand.

3M lopped off more than 40 points off the price-weighted Dow.

Meanwhile, DuPont gained 0.4% after the chemical company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue. It also lifted its full-year earnings outlook.

The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 12 points, or 1%, to 1241, led lower by financial and industrial stocks. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 27 points, or 1%, to 2672.

The action comes as investors await yet another emergency summit on Wednesday among European leaders seeking a way out of the region's debt crisis. The politicians are expected to sign off on a plan to recapitalize euro-zone banks, beef up the euro zone's bailout fund and restructure Greece's debt.

"It's put up or shut up for Europe," said Nick Kalivas, vice president of financial research at MF Global. "Talk is cheap, we need to see something concrete."

In overseas markets, Europe nudged mostly lower, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.4%, as investors remained cautious ahead of the summit. Asian bourses were mixed. China's Shanghai Composite rallied 1.7% but Japan's Nikkei Stock Average shed 0.9%.

In economic news, U.S. home prices rose modestly in August from a month earlier, due to seasonal factors. It was the fifth-straight monthly increase, according to the Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price indexes.

Also on the economic docket is a reading on consumer confidence for this month, scheduled for release at 10 a.m. ET. Data on home prices and news about manufacturing activity in the Richmond area are also due at 10 a.m.

Gold futures rose to above $1656 an ounce and crude-oil futures rallied above $93 a barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped against the euro and the Swiss franc, but inched up against the yen.

In corporate news, Netflix tumbled 37% and fell below $80 for the first time in 18 months. The Internet video distributor reported disappointing subscriber numbers and provided fourth-quarter earnings and revenue outlooks that came in well below current forecasts. The stock traded above $300 in July.

United Parcel Service reported earnings that were slightly above estimates and revenue that was in line with forecasts. The package delivery company's shares dropped 1.5%.

Texas Instruments' results were better than expected, but the firm offered a disappointing outlook for the fourth quarter, prompting the stock to drop 1.7%.

U.S. Steel dropped 2% after posting its third-quarter results. Amazon, which reports results after the closing bell, edged up 0.3%

-By Steven Russolillo, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2180; [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]