U.S. Stocks Fall, Leaving S&P 500 Unchanged for Year; Euro Drops

U.S. stocks fell, leaving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index virtually unchanged in 2011 after one of the most volatile years in the market’s history, as concern about Europe’s debt crisis halted a two-year rally in equities. The euro weakened and Treasuries gained.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent today to close at 1,257.60 at 4 p.m. in New York, compared with its 2010 closing level of 1,257.64 and marking the smallest annual change since 1947. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 69.48 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,217.56 to trim its yearly gain to 5.5 percent. The euro slipped 0.1 percent to $1.2944 and slid below 100 yen for the first time in a decade. Ten-year Treasury yields lost two basis points to 1.88 percent. The S&P GSCI Index of raw materials retreated 0.1 percent.