US stocks fall sharply

US investors, uneasy following downbeat earnings from Merck and Lexmark International, sold off stocks today to lock in profits from Friday’s rally. Prices on Wall Street fell sharply.

The downward pressure came despite better-than-expected earnings and an encouraging outlook from 3M, indicating that investors on the whole are less impressed with second-quarter results than they were with those of the first quarter, which prompted huge rallies.