Stocks slid, extending the longest slump for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since November, as a surge in Spanish and Italian bond yields fueled concern Europe’s debt crisis is worsening. Treasuries and the yen advanced.

The S&P 500 fell for a fifth day, losing 1.6 percent to 1,359.78 at 1:21 p.m. in New York. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) decreased 2.5 percent as trading resumed after most European markets were shut yesterday. National benchmark indexes tumbled 5 percent in Italy and about 3 percent in Spain and France. Ten- year U.S. Treasury yields slid below 2 percent, while Spanish yields approached 6 percent for the first time this year and Italian yields surged 23 basis points. German two- and five-year note yields fell to records. The yen rose versus all 16 peers and the dollar climbed against 14. Copper led commodities lower.

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Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on April 10, 2012. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

 

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April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Takuji Okubo, chief Japan economist at Societe Generale SA in Tokyo, talks about the outlook for Bank of Japan monetary policy and the yen. The yen weakened against all of its 16 major counterparts amid speculation the Bank of Japan will add to monetary easing this month. Okubo speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

 

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April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Gibbs, global head of economics at Macquarie Group Ltd., talks about the outlook for the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve monetary policy and its implications for global financial markets. Gibbs also discusses China's economic growth. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

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A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Spanish bonds tumbled as Economy Minister Luis de Guindos declined to rule out a rescue for the nation as 10 billion euros ($13 billion) of additional budget cuts failed to alleviate investor concerns. Analysts project that profits at non- financial S&P 500 companies grew last quarter at the slowest rate since 2009 as companies from McDonald’s Corp. to 3M Co. saw gains in the world’s largest economy eroded by a slump in Europe.