Economics
U.S. Stocks Drop as Ireland Credit Rating Cut Smothers Rally
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A late rally in U.S. stocks faded, dragging the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a third straight loss, after Ireland’s downgrade to junk added to concern Europe is losing control of the credit crisis and overshadowed evidence the Federal Reserve hasn’t ruled out more stimulus.
Semiconductor-related shares slumped, with Intel Corp. falling 1.8 percent after Novellus Systems Inc. forecast lower-than-estimated third-quarter earnings. Alcoa Inc. slipped 1.3 percent after second-quarter profit missed analyst estimates. Cisco Systems Inc. jumped 1.1 percent after two people familiar with the matter said it would announce job cuts.