3M Trims Quarterly Forecast

3M, regarded as an economic bellwether because of its products, cut its second-quarter earnings forecast Monday, but investors seemed to shrug off the news.

The company’s shares, part of the Dow Jones industrial average, fell initially but were up $3.16 to close at $117.26 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The St. Paul, Minn.-based company blamed the lowered profit expectations on slower growth spreading to Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions where it has significant sales.

3M, whose 50,000 products range from Scotch tape and Post-It notes to medical, telecommunications and industrial products, said it expects operating earnings of $1.10 to $1.14 a share in its second quarter. Analysts on average were expecting $1.19, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. The company earned $1.18 a share in the year-ago period.

Analysts said shares of diversified manufacturer Eaton Corp. reacted the same way last week after it issued an earnings warning. The shares fell first, but recovered to close higher. But Shares of Danaher Corp., which also warned about earnings, dropped 10%.

“It seems like those [companies] where people had high expectations, the stocks do get hammered,” said Jack Kelly, a Goldman Sachs analyst. “Where people had pre-announced before, it has had much more of a muted impact and I would put 3M in the latter category.”

3M cut its expectations for full-year earnings to $4.50 to $4.75 a share, from its previous estimate of $4.75 to $5. Analysts were expecting $4.83 on average. The company earned $4.68 last year.