Economics
U.S. Stocks Retreat Before Federal Reserve Beige Book
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U.S. stocks fell, paring yesterday’s gain, as earnings reports disappointed investors before the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of business conditions.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.2 percent to 1,360.37 at 9:31 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 47.75 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,757.79 today. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 percent yesterday as Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told senators the central bank is prepared to act to boost the economy if the labor market doesn’t improve.