Pursuits
S&P 500 Caps Biggest Weekly Decline in 2012 on Economy
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U.S. stocks fell, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its biggest weekly decline in 2012, as consumer confidence dropped, China’s growth slowed and the cost of insuring against a Spanish default rose to a record.
Financial shares dropped the most among 10 industries in the S&P 500, following a plunge in European lenders. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. retreated at least 3.6 percent. Technology shares, which account for 21 percent of the S&P 500, fell 1.6 percent as a group today and had the first weekly slump this year. Google Inc. tumbled 4.1 percent as the world’s largest Internet-search company plans a new stock structure that gives management more leeway in issuing shares.