Caterpillar Warning Sends Stocks Lower But Market Rebounds Late

4:10 PM, Oct 22, 2012 -- U.S. stocks finished just higher Monday, reversing earlier declines recorded after Caterpillar (CAT) slashed its FY12 forecast for the second time this year, warning the global economy is slowing faster than it expected. Energy and industrial stocks saw the steepest declines, with the Caterpillar warning working to drive down demand expectations. Technology stocks were the lone holdout from the sell-off, with a 3% rebound for Apple Inc (AAPL) working to keep the sector in the black and lifting the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite to a small gain.

CAT kept stocks on a downward slide today after the construction and mining equipment maker lowered its 2012 outlook amid weaker-than-expected global economic conditions. The company now expects per-share earnings of $9.00 to $9.25 on around $66 billion in revenue, down from its prior forecast for about $9.60 a share in earnings revenue in a range of $68 billion to $70 billion.

There were no economic reports released today, keeping corporate earnings on the front burner for most traders. Among companies scheduled to report results after the bell tonight are Yahoo (YHOO) and Texas Instruments (TXN).

AAPL shares enjoyed a 3% boost today ahead of tomorrow's expected debut of its "mini" iPad. It also is expected to provide possible details on new laptops, new desktops, and other new hardware.

Commodities were mixed today. Crude oil for November delivery settled $1.32 lower at $88.73 a barrel. November natural gas was down 16.5 cents and closed at $3.45 per 1 million BTU. December gold rose $2.10 to $1726.10 an ounce while December silver rose 17 cents to $32.27 an ounce. December copper fell 2 cents to $3.62 per pound.

Here's where the market stood at end-of-day:

Dow Jones Industrial Average up 2.38 (+0.02%) to 13,345.89

S&P 500 up 0.62 (+0.04%) to 1,433.81

Nasdaq Composite Index up 11.34 (+0.38%) to 3,016.96

GLOBAL SENTIMENT:

Hang Seng Index up 0.68%

Shanghai China Composite Index up 0.22%

FTSE 100 Index down 0.31%

UPSIDE MOVERS:

(+) PETS, Q2 earnings beat by $0.03 a share. Revenues also top estimates.

(+) PHG, Shares set new 52-week highs after Q3 sales rise 13% to 6.13 billion euros.

(+) BTU Reports Q3 EPS of $0.51 on $2.06 billion in revenue, beating estimates.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS:

(-) OSG, Said financial statements since 2009 "should no longer be relied upon."

(-) AVID, Warns Q3 earnings, revenue will fall well short of analyst expectations.

(-) NLSN, Q3 earnings of $0.53 per share miss by $0.03.