U.S. Stocks Drop as Dollar Gains on Yellen Testimony; Oil Falls

U.S. stocks fell after Federal Reserve comments that some sectors have excessive valuations overshadowed better-than-estimated bank earnings. The dollar strengthened while Treasuries traded little changed as Chair Janet Yellen told lawmakers stimulus was still required.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent, while the Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies sank 1 percent after the Fed said in a report that valuations of some biotechnology and social-media stocks may be “substantially stretched.” JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. jumped. U.S. crude fell below $100 a barrel for the first time since May. Ten-year Treasury yields held at 2.55 percent, near a six-week low. The dollar gained against most major peers and gold fell.