U.S. stocks fell, following a two- week decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as a private report showed American manufacturing industries contracted in August, fueling concern the economic recovery is slowing.
Netflix Inc. slumped 10 percent, the most in the S&P 500, after Amazon.com Inc. reached a deal with pay-television channel Epix. Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) lost 4.9 percent as Dahlman Rose & Co. cut its recommendation on the company’s stock. Morgan Stanley (MS) rose 2.6 percent after CLSA Ltd. recommended buying the shares. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (VRX) rallied 15 percent after agreeing to buy Medicis (MRX) Pharmaceutical Corp. for $2.6 billion. Medicis surged 38 percent.
The S&P 500 declined 0.5 percent to 1,399.91 at 10:11 a.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 69.84 points, or 0.5 percent, to 13,021 today. The U.S. market was closed yesterday for a holiday. Trading in S&P 500 companies was down 7.9 percent from the 30-day average at this time of day.
