Deere shares bounce back from 10% drop

Shares of heavy-equipment maker Deere & Co. recovered from a major fall in trading Wednesday, following along with an overall market recovery in the afternoon.

The stock price for Deere (NYSE: DE - News), whose consumer arm is based in Cary, was down more than 10 percent in early-afternoon trading. Investors had been spooked by a statement from farm-equipment maker CNH Global NV, which said it expects overall North American sales of farm machinery to drop by as much as 10 percent in 2008.

But as the markets gained steam throughout the afternoon, Deere stock rose. It closed down only 0.25 percent, to $82.94.

Shares of Deere rival Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT - News), which also has a major Triangle presence, were also down earlier in the day, though they finished up 2 percent, to $65.08.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes both Deere and Caterpillar, finished up nearly 300 points, or 2.5 percent, at 12,270. A late-afternoon rally put U.S. markets in the black for the first time in six days.