U.S. stocks sank, with the Standard
& Poor’s 500 Index headed for its worst January since 2009, as
earnings reports at companies from Amazon.com Inc. to Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. disappointed investors.
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The S&P 500 retreated 0.9 percent to
1,777.94 at 9:32 a.m. in New York to extend its monthly drop to 3.9
percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 169.35 points, or 1.1
percent, to 15,679.26.
 U.S. benchmark indexes are headed for
their first monthly decline since August, with the S&P 500 down 2.9
percent, as emerging-market currencies slumped amid signs China’s
economy is slowing. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve decided to
reduce its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion. Three rounds of U.S.
monetary stimulus helped the S&P 500 rise as much as 173 percent
from a 12-year low in 2009.
Stock-index futures remained lower as a
report showed consumer spending in the U.S. climbed more than forecast
in December even as incomes stagnated. Household purchases, which
account for about 70 percent of the economy, rose 0.4 percent, after a
0.6 percent gain the prior month that was larger than previously
estimated, Commerce Department figures showed. Incomes were unchanged,
pushing the saving rate to the lowest level in almost a year.
Data at 9:55 a.m. New York time may show
the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of sentiment
slipped to 81 in January, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
That compares with a preliminary figure of 80.4 and a December reading
of 82.5.
About 79 percent of the companies in the
measure that have posted earnings this season exceeded analysts’
projections. Profit at S&P 500 companies probably rose 6.6 percent
in the fourth quarter of 2013 and sales increased 2.6 percent, analysts’
estimates compiled by Bloomberg show.
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