Weak earnings weigh on stocks

January 25, 2011 at 10:24a.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower, with a large batch of earnings weighing on the market.

Four of the 30 companies in the Dow Jones industrial average reported quarterly results before the market opened today: DuPont, 3M Co., Verizon Communications Inc. and Johnson & Johnson.

The health care giant Johnson & Johnson is leading Dow stocks lower in early trading. The company said profit dropped 12 percent, after it was hammered by recalls that pulled its products from shelves. DuPont and 3M also reported lower earnings.

Profits surged at Verizon but its adjusted earnings fell a penny short of estimates.

The Dow is down 37 points, or 0.3 percent, at 11,941. The S&P 500 is down 5, or 0.3 percent, at 1,286. The Nasdaq is down 15, or 0.5 percent, at 2,703.