June 20 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks fell after 10-year Treasury bond yields rose for the first time in four days, reviving concern higher borrowing costs will curb growth.
Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. led declines in companies that benefit from low interest rates. All 32 energy companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index retreated after the price of oil slid from a nine-month high.
A surge in bond yields to a five-year peak sent stock indexes down from records earlier this month. The yield on the 10-year note, which influences rates on mortgages and corporate loans, advanced to 5.11 percent today after losing 0.14 percentage point over the previous three days.
More than eight stocks dropped for every five that gained on the New York Stock Exchange.
The S&P 500 declined 3.08, or 0.2 percent, to 1530.62 as of 11:41 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed at 13,635.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.38 to 2626.38.
Citigroup, the world's biggest financial-services firm, lost 42 cents to $53.84. JPMorgan, the third-largest U.S. bank, retreated 50 cents to $50.35.
Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's biggest oil company, fell $1.28 to $83.56. Occidental Petroleum Corp., the fourth-largest crude producer, lost $1.74 to $57.36.
Crude oil for July delivery fell $1.19 to $67.91 a barrel in New York after an Energy Department report showed U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles increased last week.
MGM, Alcan
MGM Mirage, Las Vegas' largest casino owner, plummeted $6.49, or 7.5 percent, to $80.01. Kirk Kerkorian, who owns a 56 percent stake, may be backing away from plans to buy two properties from the casino operator, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.
Alcan Inc. fell 48 cents to $83.83. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the aluminum maker, which is seeking to fend off a hostile bid from rival Alcoa Inc., gave BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group access to financial data. The newspaper didn't say where it got the information. Alcoa dropped 40 cents to $41.18.
BHP and Rio, the world's largest and third-largest mining companies, are considered potential counter bidders to Alcoa, the newspaper said. Alcan declined to comment on the article, as did BHP and Rio.
Home Depot
Home Depot Inc. jumped $2.66, or 7 percent, to $40.93 for its steepest advance since May 2003. The retailer agreed to sell its contractor-supplies unit, which accounted for 13 percent of the company's $91 billion in sales last year, to three buyout firms. Its plans to buy back as much as $22.5 billion of stock equals 30 percent of the company's outstanding shares.
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. raised its price estimate for Home Depot shares by 7 percent to $46.
Morgan Stanley added $1.68, or 1.9 percent, to $89.48. The New York-based firm said profit rose on gains from trading and investment banking. Net income climbed to $2.45 a share from $1.75 a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings of $2 a share, based on the average estimate in a survey by Bloomberg.
Google Inc., owner of the world's most-used Internet search engine, gained $1.13 to $515.44. Microsoft Corp. agreed to modify its Vista operating system after Google complained the program's design hurts competing search software in violation of a 2001 antitrust settlement. Google had said its desktop search program doesn't perform properly on Vista. Microsoft slid 12 cents to $30.34.
Yahoo, News Corp.
Yahoo! Inc. climbed 35 cents to $27.98. The company said six Asian mobile-phone operators agreed to use its search software, helping the operator of the second most-used Internet search engine boost advertising sales.
Separately, News Corp., run by Rupert Murdoch, discussed trading its social-networking Web site MySpace for a 25 percent stake in Yahoo, the Times of London reported.
News Corp. spokesman Andrew Butcher didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. The Times is owned by News Corp. Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens also didn't return a call. News Corp. added 23 cents to $23.91.
FedEx Corp. advanced $4.12 to $112.18. The world's largest air-cargo carrier said fourth-quarter profit rose 7.4 percent as gains from international express shipments overcame a depressed U.S. parcel delivery market.
Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. added 15 cents to $48.96. The world's largest retailer said it will open financial-service centers where customers can cash checks, pay bills and transfer money in 1,000 stores.
Mortgage applications in the U.S. fell last week, signaling mortgage rates near an 11-month high may be starting to discourage home purchases and refinancing.
The Mortgage Bankers Association's index of applications to buy a home or refinance a loan fell 3.4 percent to 643.7 from 666.5 the prior week. The group's gauge of purchase applications fell 3 percent, and a measure of refinancing dropped 4.2 percent.
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