Stocks give up early gains

NEW YORK — Stocks struggled to a mixed finish Thursday after weak earnings news from 3M and other companies weighed on the market.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 12 points, but broader indexes posted slight gains. The market had risen steadily in the opening moments of trading following a surprise drop in first-time claims for unemployment benefits, pushing the Dow up as high as 53.

3M Co. set a negative tone with a downbeat view on the economy and a lower forecast for full-year earnings. 3M’s dim assessment of the U.S. and European economies was a sobering reminder that growth in many developed nations remains weak. The maker of everything from Post-It notes to Scotch Tape called growth in those regions “uninspiring.” Its shares fell 6.4 percent.

Apple Inc. fell about 1 percent after warning in a regulatory filing that profit margins might narrow next year. Colgate-Palmolive Co. also said it expects sales growth to slow next year.

Not all the corporate news was bad. Eastman Kodak Co. rose 15.4 percent after saying more customers turned to home and office printers. Motorola Inc. said its phone division was profitable for the first time in three years as the company bets consumers will snap up more smart phones like the Droid X.

Avon Products Inc. sank 5.6 percent after reporting suprisingly poor results from emerging markets. The beauty products seller said weakness in Brazil and Russia hurt quarterly profits. Many companies have relied heavily on expansion in developing countries to offset lagging sales in the U.S. and Europe.

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