Grim Caterpillar outlook tugs stocks mostly lower

NEW YORK (AP) - A gloomy outlook from Caterpillar, the world's largest construction equipment company, tugged the stock market lower Wednesday.

The meager drop gave the stock market two consecutive days of losses, the first time that has happened in an otherwise strong month.

Caterpillar's earnings fell 43 percent in the second quarter as China's economy slowed and commodity prices sank. The company also warned of slowing revenue and profit, and its stock dropped $2.08, or 2 percent, to $83.44.

Slight losses spread across a wide variety of companies, with nine of 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 index ending lower.

The holdouts were technology companies, which got a lift from Apple's surging stock. Despite reporting lower quarterly earnings Tuesday, the maker of tablets, smartphones and computers still managed to beat analysts' estimates, thanks to rising shipments of iPhones. Apple jumped $21.52, or 5 percent, to $440.51. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.50 points, or 0.2 percent, at 15,542.24.