S&P 500 Falls to Start Year Lower for 1st Time Since 2008

U.S. stocks declined, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index starting the year lower for the first time since 2008, after benchmark indexes posted the biggest annual rallies in more than 15 years.

Apple Inc. fell 1.4 percent after Wells Fargo & Co. cut its rating on the stock, sending technology shares lower by 1.1 percent as a group. Analog Devices Inc. lost 3.2 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised investors to sell the shares. Newmont Mining Corp. added 4 percent as gold futures rose the most in three weeks in New York.