Caterpillar Down On Continued Slump In Worldwide Sales

Caterpillar CAT shares lost one percent after the heavy equipment company said worldwide sales dropped 13 percent in the three months ended April 30.

Although sales were up 14 percent in North America, they plunged 30 percent in Asia/Pacific and 24 percent in Europe.

About 67 percent of Caterpillar's 2013 revenue was from sales outside of North America and company sales in Asia are sometimes viewed as a proxy for construction in China.

The slumping sales news follows declines of eight percent and 12 percent in March and February, respectively. Caterpillar reports sales each month on a rolling three-month basis.

Caterpillar was recovering somewhat recently, trading at $107.06 a share, down 0.4 percent.