U.S. Stocks Decline as Energy Slumps, Investors Await Fed

Bloomberg, (19/8) -- U.S. stocks fell, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its first four-day decline of the year, after energy shares dropped and Treasury yields jumped to a two-year high as investors awaited signals this week on the Federal Reserve’s stimulus plans. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6 percent to 1,646.06 at 4 p.m. in New York, the lowest level since July 8. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 70.73 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,010.74. The Federal Open Market Committee will release minutes of its July 30-31 meeting on Aug. 21. Investors and analysts will be looking for clues on when central bankers plan to reduce their $85 billion in monthly asset purchases. Officials will begin to trim buying at their Sept. 17-18 meeting, according to 65 percent of economists surveyed by Bloomberg on Aug. 9-13. Central bankers and policy makers meet in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from Aug. 22 to Aug. 24 to discuss the global economy and monetary policy. Of the 464 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 72 percent have topped analysts’ estimates, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. About 55 percent have exceeded revenue projections. About 23 S&P 500 companies are scheduled to release quarterly results this week. Energy shares had the largest decline today, dropping 1.5 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped for the first time in seven days as the threat of a storm in the Gulf of Mexico dissipated, removing a risk to oil and gas production in the area. Oil also slid because demand from U.S. refineries is declining as the peak gasoline-use period comes to an end. WTI capped the longest rising streak since April on Aug. 16 amid unrest in Egypt.