“U.S. stocks fell, following the biggest selloff in a year for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, asApple Inc. (AAPL) slumped and a European Union official said a decision on unlocking funds for Greece may not be made until late November.
Apple lost 1.7 percent, extending its decline since its Sept. 19 high to 22 percent. JPMorgan gained 1.3 percent after saying the Federal Reserve allowed its proposal to buy back as much as $3 billion in common equity during next year’s first quarter.Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), the largest seller of mobile-phone semiconductors, climbed 6.9 percent after forecasting sales and profit that topped estimates.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent to 1,392.01 at 10:51 a.m. New York time, after gaining as much as 0.5 percent earlier. The Dow dropped 27.18 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,905.55. Trading in S&P 500 companies was 9.4 percent above the 30-day average at this time of day.
Finance chiefs won’t make the call to release 31.5 billion euros ($40.1 billion) of aid for Greece that has been frozen since June when they meet in Brussels on Nov. 12, an EU official said today on condition of anonymity because the deliberations are private.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras mustered support in Parliament to approve austerity measures needed to unlock bailout funds, in a tense vote that weakened his majority after the expulsion of seven dissenting lawmakers. The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold today as the economic outlook worsens and Spain resists asking for a bailout that would open the door to ECB bond purchases.
