U.S. Stocks Retreat on China Data, Stimulus Speculation

U.S. stocks retreated, giving benchmark indexes their first back-to-back drops in one month, as a contraction in China manufacturing offset American housing data and investors weighed Federal Reserve stimulus comments.

Sempra Energy and Ralph Lauren Corp. slipped at least 2.3 percent after their forecasts missed analysts’ estimates. Ford Motor Co. retreated 1.1 percent after saying it will stop making cars in Australia in October 2016. Hewlett-Packard Co. surged 17 percent after the computer maker’s forecast for fiscal third-quarter profit exceeded estimates.