U.S. Stocks Fall on Europe Concern as Cyprus Rejects Levy

U.S. Stocks Fall on Europe Concern as Cyprus Rejects Levy

Bloomberg, (20/3) -- U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its longest slump of the year, as Cypriot lawmakers’ rejection of a bank levy overshadowed data showing growth in new-home construction. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 1,548.34 at 4 p.m. in New York, after dropping as much as 0.9 percent earlier. The gauge lost 1 percent over three days, the longest streak since Dec. 28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 3.76 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 14,455.82. Stocks fell as Cyprus’s parliament rejected an unprecedented levy on bank deposits, dealing a blow to European plans to force savers to shoulder part of the country’s bailout in a standoff that risks renewed    tumult in the euro area. Hammered out by euro-area finance chiefs at the weekend, the deal had sought to raise 5.8 billion euros ($7.5 billion) by drawing funds from Cyprus bank accounts in return for 10 billion euros in international aid. Equities trimmed losses late in the trading day after the European Central Bank reaffirmed its commitment to provide liquidity “as needed within the existing rules.” A Commerce Department report showed builders broke ground on 917,000 homes at an annual rate, up 0.8 percent from a revised 910,000 pace in January that was higher than initially estimated. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, advanced 4.6 percent to 946,000, the strongest since June 2008. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-19/u-s-stock-futures-are-little-changed-before-fed-meeting.html