Shares of Nucor Corp. NUE fell 0.6% toward a 2 1/2-month low in premarket trading Thursday, after the steelmaker provided a first-quarter profit outlook that was below Wall Street projections. The company said its expects earnings per share for the current quarter to fall to $3.70 to $3.80 from $4.89 in the fourth quarter and from $7.67 in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $3.84. The company said it expects its profitability in its steel products segment to decrease from the fourth quarter because of reduced construction activity and some declines in pricing, while profitability is expected to increase in its steel mills and raw materials businesses. The stock has gained 8.4% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the Materials Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLB has lost 4.1% and the S&P 500 SPX has edged up 1.0%.
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