Stocks fall, yen and gold gain

Markets ended the week on a negative note. Bloomberg reports:

U.S. stocks fell, capping a fourth straight weekly slump for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as the cheapest price-earnings ratios since 2009 failed to lure investors amid concern the global economy is weakening. The yen touched a post-World War II high against the dollar.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.5 percent to 1,123.53 at 4 p.m. in New York, after rising as much as 1.2 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 1.6 percent to its lowest close since July 2009. The Japanese yen reached 75.95 per dollar, its strongest postwar level as investors sought refuge in the currency. Oil slid 0.1 percent as it swung from gains to losses. Gold futures topped $1,880 an ounce for the first time. Ten-year Treasury yields rose less than one basis point after yesterday’s record low.

The European stock market is already in bear market territory and the US stock market is getting close too.

The S&P 500 has fallen 18 percent from an almost three-year high on April 29 amid concern about Europe’s debt crisis and a global economic slowdown. The decline through Aug. 8 drove the index to a valuation of 12.2 times reported earnings, the lowest level since March 2009. Its price-earnings ratio is 12.3, compared with the average of 16.4 since 1954, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The benchmark for U.S. equities lost 4.7 percent this week.