Stocks fall after first U.S. manufacturing slowdown in almost three years
7/2/2012NEW YORK — U.S. stocks were trading lower at midday, pushed down by a report that American manufacturing slowed for the first time in nearly three years.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 57 points to 12,823. The Standard & Poor's 500 is down four to 1,358. The Nasdaq composite index is down two to 2,933.
The government is reporting that U.S. construction spending is up, but that good news isn't enough to wipe out the jolt caused by the manufacturing report.
Chemical company DuPont is down more than 3 percent, the most of any of the 30 companies in the Dow. Other companies that are closely tied to manufacturing are also down, including Caterpillar, General Electric, Alcoa, Exxon Mobil and Boeing.