Abbott Laboratories Inc's second-quarter earnings fell 2.6 percent, with generic competition for its Depakote anti-seizure drug overshadowing strong sales of its Humira arthritis drug and its Xience heart stent.

Shares of the suburban Chicago drugmaker fell 1.6 percent as its global revenue came in slightly below Wall Street forecasts, stymied by a strong dollar that crimped the value of overseas sales.

Abbott earned $1.29 billion, or 83 cents per share, compared with $1.32 billion, or 85 cents per share in the year earlier period.

Excluding special items, Abbott earned 89 cents per share, matching the average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.

Global quarterly sales rose 2.5 percent to $7.5 billion, a bit shy of the Reuters Estimates forecast of $7.55 billion.

Shares of the diversified healthcare company slumped 1.6 percent to $45.75, from their closing price on Tuesday of $46.49 on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Derek Caney)

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