line retailer's guidance Thursday for 2005 came in below Wall Street's expectations. The Dow's decline was limited by heavy construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., which rebounded 2.5 percent to $78.94 after falling 3.7 percent on Thursday. Caterpillar's earnings topped expectations on Thursday, but analysts worried about the company's struggle with higher steel costs. Charles Rentschler, analyst with Langenberg & Co., who has a "buy" rating on Caterpillar, said: "I think the market somewhat overreacted yesterday." 3M Co., maker of Scotch tape and Post-It notes, also dragged on the Dow as it fell 1 percent to $76.70. On Monday, 3M reported a 17 percent rise in third-quarter earnings, but the results were below Wall Street's estimates. American International Group Inc. fell 2 percent to $55.40 a day after the insurer said a federal grand jury is investigating products sold by AIG that companies might have used to make their earnings look better. Shares of phone companies Verizon Communications Inc. and SBC Communications, both Dow components, fell after earnings from SBC's Cingular Wireless joint venture upset some investors. Verizon fell 2 percent to $38.98 and SBC was down 34 cents at $25.34. --SP 0044 Local Time 2144 GMT
