U.S. Stocks Decline as Small-Caps Tumble With Commodities

U.S. stocks fell, led by small-cap shares, and commodities tumbled to a five-year low as China’s finance minister damped stimulus hopes and sales of existing homes in the U.S. unexpectedly dropped. Bonds advanced.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index had its biggest decline since Aug. 5, falling 0.8 percent at 4 p.m. in New York after reaching a record last week. The MSCI All-Country World Index lost 0.8 percent and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index tumbled 1.3 percent, the most since March. The Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies slid 1.5 percent, the biggest drop in seven weeks. The VIX jumped 13 percent for its biggest rally since July. The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 1 basis point to 2.56 percent. Copper and Brent crude tumbled 1.7 percent.