Chevron Corp. (CVX) and Halliburton Co. (HAL) fell at least 2.8 percent as oil and metals declined. Joy Global Inc. slumped 11 percent after the maker of mining equipment said demand for commodities will remain slow. First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the largest maker of thin- film solar panels, plunged 21 percent after it cut estimates. Financial shares (S5FINL) in the S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent, rebounding from an earlier loss, as the Wall Street Journal reported that S&P has not informed France about an imminent downgrade.

The S&P 500 declined 1.1 percent to 1,212.76 at 2:12 p.m. New York time. The benchmark measure for American equities has fallen 3.4 percent in three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 137.22 points, or 1.2 percent, to 11,817.72 today.

“It’s very frustrating,” John Carey, a Boston-based money manager at Pioneer Investments, said in a telephone interview. The firm oversees about $220 billion. “There’s just a hypersensitivity to stories coming out of Europe, ratings, downgrades, what have you. Any indication is seen as something as a basis to trade. That’s continuing to cause anxiety among investors. Nobody sees a way through this at the moment.”

The S&P 500 has struggled (SPX) to stay above its 2010 closing level of 1,257.64 since topping it during the last week of October after slumping below it for almost three months. The index is down 2.5 percent for the year through yesterday, led by a 21 percent slide in financial shares.

Unknown Intentions

Stocks trimmed earlier losses after a French official said the intentions of S&P regarding France’s credit rating are unknown to the government at this stage, the Wall Street Journal reported.

American stocks followed a slump in global equities as the cost of insuring against default on European sovereign debt approached a record. Italy had to pay the most in 14 years to sell five-year bonds as Parliament rushes to pass a 30 billion- euro ($39 billion) budget plan that Prime Minister Mario Monti says will bring down borrowing costs. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking to lawmakers today, said there’s no easy solution to the euro-region sovereign debt crisis.

“It’s all about the risk-off trade,” Mike Ryan, the New York-based chief investment strategist at UBS Wealth Management Americas, said in a telephone interview. His firm oversees $715 billion. “It’s continued concern about the euro zone. There’s nothing constructive that’s come out since last week. We haven’t seen the European Central Bank step up in a meaningful way. You also start to see now concern about what the impact will be on U.S. corporate earnings.”

Economic Concern

Nine out of 10 groups (SPXL1) in the S&P 500 retreated, led by declines in companies most-tied to the economy. The Morgan Stanley Cyclical Index slumped 1.4 percent, while the Dow Jones Transportation Average lost 1.3 percent. The KBW Bank Index rose 0.1 percent, reversing an earlier drop of 1.1 percent.

Energy shares had the biggest decline in the S&P 500, falling 2.6 percent as a group, after the U.S. dollar rose, reducing the appeal of commodities such as oil.

Chevron sank 3 percent to $100.48. Brazil’s federal prosecutor’s office has asked the company to suspend all activity in the country and pay 20 billion reais ($10.7 billion) in damages after an oil spill last month, the prosecutor’s office said in an e-mailed statement.

Halliburton slid 2.8 percent to $30.97.

Joy Global (JOYG) slumped 11 percent to $75.47. Sales for the latest quarter rose 27 percent to $1.34 billion from $1.05 billion, lower than the $1.35 billion average of 11 estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Other industrial companies declined. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), the largest construction and mining-equipment maker, dropped 4.4 percent, the most in the Dow, to $86.94. Cummins Inc. (CMI) retreated 1.4 percent to $87.96.

First Solar

First Solar plunged 21 percent to $33.80. The company said global production of solar panels has tripled in recent years as more companies, including Chinese suppliers, enter the market. Government subsidies for solar power, especially in Europe, have declined as those nations have trimmed budgets in an economic decline, Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer Michael Ahearn said on a conference call today.

Avon Products Inc. (AVP) rallied 6.3 percent to $17.15. The world’s biggest door-to-door cosmetics seller said it will search for a new chief executive officer next year to replace Andrea Jung.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in Sao Paulo at rnazareth@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net

• Asian Stocks Rise on Faster Japan Inflation, U.S. Outlook   (2014-05-30 09:33:27)
• Asian Stocks Rise on Faster Japan Inflation, U.S. Outlook   (2014-05-30 09:33:27)
• Asian Stocks Rise on Faster Japan Inflation, U.S. Outlook   (2014-05-30 09:33:02)
• Asian Stocks Fluctuate After Japan Retail Sales Slump   (2014-05-29 09:37:51)
• Asian Stocks Fall Second Day as Health-Care Shares Drop   (2014-04-08 08:52:58)
• Industrial Stocks Take ETF Bounty   (2014-04-08 08:52:29)
• Asian Stocks Set for Second Weekly Gain Before U.S. Jobs   (2014-04-04 09:46:16)
• Australia Model Curbs Speed as CEO Says U.S. Too Far Gone   (2014-04-04 09:45:49)
• Asia Stocks Rise 4th Day as Consumer Shares Lead Gain   (2014-03-31 10:48:33)
• Asia Stocks Swing After U.S. Manufacturing Index Falls   (2014-03-25 11:29:14)