The Dow Jones Industrial Average was enjoying a 100-point gain, powered by powerful rallies in Caterpillar Inc., and McDonald’s Corp., even as a tumble in 3M Co. was exacting a mighty toll from the blue-chip gauge. Shares of 3M Co. were slashing about 80 points from the Dow and putting the maker of Post-it Notes, Scotch tape and Ace bandages on pace to book its worst-ever price daily decline, off $11.37, or 5.4%, according to FactSet Data. That historic drop, however was more than offset by surges in shares of McDonald’s and Caterpillar . The pair of Dow components, which both reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s estimates, were contributing 95 points to the average’s gains . Shares of McDonald’s were on pace for their best dollar gain since Oct. 2015, adding more than 50 points to the price-weighted Dow, while a rally in industrial giant Caterpillar’s stock was adding about 40 points to the blue-chip indicator, with its best daily climb since Nov. 9 in sight. Overall, the Dow was up 0.5%, the S&P 500 index was gaining 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was on track to end the session little changed.
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