U.S. Stocks Decline as S&P 500 Posts Worst Month Since May 2012
- Health-care companies lead benchmark lower in August
- Dow industrials mark worst monthly decline since May 2010
The VIX's Wild Ride: Will It Recover This Week?
U.S. stocks declined, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posting its worst month in more than three years, as investors harbored concerns about slowing global growth and the impact of a potential interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve as soon as September.
Merck & Co. and Celgene Corp. sank at least 2.7 percent to weigh on the health-care group. Yahoo! Inc. and Facebook Inc. slumped more than 1.7 percent to drag technology shares lower. Energy erased an earlier drop along with oil, as Consol Energy Inc. and ConocoPhillips gained more than 4.9 percent. Phillips 66 rose 2.4 percent as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has amassed a $4.5 billion stake in the oil refiner. Berkshire fell 1.3 percent.