Sept. 30, 2011 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest quarterly drop since 2008, after reports from China and Germany fueled concerns the global economy is slowing.
The S&P 500 retreated 2.5 percent to 1,131.42 at 4 p.m. New York time, according to preliminary closing data. Companies most tied to economic growth had the biggest declines among 10 industry groups in the index.
“It’s an accumulation of worries that keep dragging the market down,” John Carey, a Boston-based money manager at Pioneer Investments, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about $250 billion. “The economic news continues to be mixed and there’s still worry about the European debt situation and concern about our own political impasse in Washington.” He said, “News like that definitely rings alarm bells for people and makes them more cautious about equities.”
The S&P 500 yesterday rose 0.8 percent as lower-than- estimated claims for unemployment benefits helped offset losses in consumer and technology shares. The index dropped for five consecutive months, the longest falling streak since March 2008. The U.S. equity gauge tumbled 14 percent this quarter, the biggest three-month drop since December 2008, and is down 10 percent for the year.
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