NEW YORK: The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped for a fourth consecutive day Thursday, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi failed to reassure investors on immediate efforts to bolster the economy.
Alcoa Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and DuPont Co. dropped at least 1.8 percent to pace losses in the biggest companies. Knight Capital Group Inc. plunged 63 percent after saying losses from a trading breakdown are $440 million, more than some analysts had estimated, as it explores strategic and financial alternatives. General Motors Co. slid 2.6 percent as the automaker said second-quarter profit slumped 38 percent.
The S&P 500 lost 0.7 percent to 1,365, dropping 1.5 percent in four days. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 92.18 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,878.88.
“It’s status quo,” said Hayes Miller, who helps oversee about $48 billion as the Boston-based head of asset allocation in North America at Baring Asset Management Inc. “I don’t know why people feel that authorities can come up with magic solutions. I don’t know that the magic bullet exists. There are limits to what the ECB can do.”
