U.S. Stocks Extend Losses After Rout; Yields Slide on ECB
Why Weak Euro Is Critical to European Recovery
U.S. stocks fell, with benchmark indexes extending losses following the steepest drop in two months, as a slump in consumer and technology shares offset gains among banks. The euro sank to a 12-year low as European Central Bank bond buying sent yields across the region to record lows.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent by 4 p.m. in New York, after wiping out its 2015 advance on Tuesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rallied 1.5 percent, the most since Jan. 23, while Europe’s shared currency slid as much as 1.8 percent to the lowest level since March 2003. Demand for fixed-income assets saw bond yields from Spain to Finland fall to all-time lows, while rates on 10-year Treasuries fell for a third day as a U.S. bond auction drew global demand. Emerging-market shares sank a ninth day, as gold and U.S. crude oil retreated.