U.S. Stocks Slump as S&P 500 Posts Biggest Drop Since July 2010

U.S. stocks fell five straight days, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest weekly loss in a year, as lawmakers’ failure to agree on raising the federal government’s debt limit brought the nation to the brink of default.

All 10 groups in the S&P 500 tumbled at least 2.1 percent. United Parcel Service Inc., the largest package-delivery company, dropped 6.7 percent after saying the third quarter will be “fairly slow.” 3M Co. lost 8.6 percent, the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after missing forecasts for profit margins and sales. Sprint Nextel Corp. plunged 18 percent as the wireless-network operator trailed estimates.