Economics
U.S. Stocks Slip on Valeant as Oil, Gold Lead Commodities Slump
- Biotechnology shares resume losses as Valeant targeted
- Japanese trade data fuels concern over commodity demand
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A short-seller takeout of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. roiled the health-care sector, sending U.S. stocks to a second day of losses amid mixed corporate results. Fresh signs of a slowdown in global growth helped push oil to a three-week low.
After a volatile session, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ended Wednesday at a one-week low. Valeant set the tone, with its shares tumbling as much as 40 percent on a report from Citron Research, only to cut the rout in half after billionaire William Ackman added to his stake in the company. The saga overshadowed a largely positive slate of blue-chip earnings. Oil in New York also fell to a three-week low and gold slid the most this month.