Wall Street was lower at midday on Friday as quarterly reports from various sectors disappointed.
The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 1.27 percent to 13,713.05, while the Nasdaq Composite had fallen 1.14 percent to 2,767.32 and the S&P 500 was down 1.12 percent to 1,522.82.
The exception to the generally poor quarterly reports was Google (NAS: GOOG; LSE: GGEA), which added $11.72 to $651.34 after it said profits were up by 46 percent in the third quarter.
Elsewhere, manufacturer 3M (NYSE: MMM) dropped $6.25 to $88.48 even though profits were up 7 percent in the quarter and it raised its full-year forecast after sales did not live up to expectations.
Construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) was down $2.85 to $74.81 after it lowered its full-year outlook even though profits were up 21 percent in the quarter.
In the banking sector, Wachovia (NYSE: WB) reported that profits were down 10 percent in the third quarter, sending shares 83 cents lower to $47.31 at mid-session.
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) was down 1.1 percent to $93.99.