Stocks Slide, 10-Year Note Yield Reaches Record Low; Franc Drops

Stocks fell, sending Europe’s benchmark index to a two-year low, while 10-year Treasury yields slid to a record amid growing concern Europe’s debt crisis is worsening. The franc sank the most since the euro’s creation as the Swiss central bank set a ceiling on the exchange rate.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 pared losses during the day, ending down 0.7 percent at 4 p.m. in New York following a morning drop of as much as 2.9 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent to the lowest level since July 2009. The franc depreciated 7.9 percent versus the euro. Gold in London lost 1.1 percent after earlier climbing 1.1 percent to $1,921.15 an ounce, an all-time high. Ten-year Treasury yields slid as much as eight basis points to 1.91 percent before trimming declines to trade at 1.97 percent.