Economics
U.S. Stocks Decline as Concern Over Europe Offsets Jobs Report
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U.S. stocks retreated, trimming a weekly advance for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as concern Europe’s debt crisis will worsen overshadowed faster-than forecast growth in American employment.
Financial stocks had the biggest decline in the S&P 500 among 10 industries, falling 3.7 percent, after Fitch Ratings downgraded the debt ratings of Italy and Spain. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies lost 2.6 percent after climbing 11 percent in the previous three days, the biggest rally since March 2009. Sprint Nextel Corp. tumbled 20 percent as the third-largest U.S. wireless carrier said it needs to raise additional capital as it spends on a network upgrade and new handsets.