DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) cut its first-quarter earnings forecast as revenue the past three months has dropped 21% on demand woes and the stronger dollar.

The stock fell 6.6% premarket to $26, putting it down nearly 50% since early September.

In the latest sign of the toll the slumping economy is taking on the industrial sector, the bellwether tool maker said January and February demand across most of the world was "significantly weaker" than expected, adding it expects similar trends in March.

Illinois Tool Works now expects first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 8 cents to 16 cents a share, with revenue down 22% to 26%. The company in January projected earnings of 26 cents to 42 cents, below analysts' expectations at the time. It had projected revenue would be down 11% to 17%.

The biggest revenue weakness in the three months ended Feb. 28 was construction products, down 32%, and industrial packaging, off 28%. The lone increase came in polymers and fluids, up 1.2%.

The company will announce first-quarter results on April 16.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5658; mike.barris@dowjones.com