Caterpillar, 3M Contribute One Third Of Dow's Rally

In a sign that earnings still matter for the stock market, the two Dow industrials components that reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit are contributing about a third of the Dow's 244-point gain on Thursday. 3M Co.'s shares are surging $7.73, or 5.6%, while Caterpillar's shares are running up $4.78, or 5.1%. The dollar gains are adding about 50 points and 31 points, respectively, to the rise in the Dow, which is a price-weighted index. Meanwhile, the shares of AT&T , which reported late Wednesday third-quarter earnings that missed expectations, are down 85 cents, or 2.5%, to subtract 5 points from the Dow's price.