U.S. Stocks Fall Most Since November, Euro Drops on Italy

U.S. stocks sank the most since November, while the euro and Italian bonds erased early gains, as Italy’s elections spurred concern of renewed turmoil in European markets. Natural gas, silver and gold led gains in commodities. The yen and Treasuries surged.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slid 1.8 percent to 1,487.85 at 4 p.m. in New York after gaining as much as 0.7 percent in the first hour of trading. The VIX, the benchmark gauge of U.S. stock options, surged the most since 2011. The euro tumbled 0.9 percent to $1.3081 after jumping almost 1 percent. Italy’s 10-year yields increased four basis points to 4.49 percent after plunging as much as 28 points. Ten-year U.S. Treasury note yields decreased 10 basis points, the most since November, to 1.86 percent.