By Rita Nazareth Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreating after two days of gains, as revenue results from Target Corp. and profits at Deere & Co. came in below estimates. Target fell 2.3 percent and Deere & Co. retreated 0.5 percent on results that disappointed investors. Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc., which jumped 28 percent yesterday as BHP Billiton Ltd. made a takeover bid for the fertilizer company, climbed 2.5 percent today to $146.76 as BHP made the offer hostile and analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd. said the price may rise to as much as $165 a share. The S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 1,088.72 at 9:36 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 44.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 10,361.80. Of the 447 companies on the S&P 500 to have released earnings since July 12, about three-quarters have topped per- share profit estimates, while about 61 percent have beaten projections for sales, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P 500 climbed 1.2 percent to 1,092.54 yesterday as a report showed industrial production in the U.S. rose 1 percent in July, while retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. raised their forecasts and BHP’s approach to Potash drove raw-materials producers higher. Still, the benchmark gauge remains 10 percent below its high this year on April 23 through yesterday amid signs that the economy is stalling. Target, Deere Target, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, fell 2.3 percent to $49.51. The company said revenue in the second quarter was $15.5 billion. Analysts had estimated revenue of $15.6 billion. Earnings per share were 92 cents, in line with analysts’ projections. Deere dropped 0.5 percent to $66.88 after forecasting per- share earnings for the fourth quarter of about 88 cents, missing the average estimate of 89 cents. The world’s largest farm equipment maker said net income climbed to $617 million, or $1.44 a share in the three months through July, from $420 million, or 99 cents, a year earlier. The average estimate of 17 analysts in a Bloomberg survey was for profit excluding some items of $1.22. Sales gained 18 percent to $6.22 billion. Potash Corp. rose 2.5 percent to $146.76. BHP, seeking to become the biggest fertilizer producer, offered $130 a share for Potash, which yesterday said it rejected an initial approach at the same price because it was “grossly inadequate.” The stock’s rise indicates BHP Chief Executive Officer Marius Kloppers may have to raise his bid to win over investors. Mosaic Rises Mosaic gained 2.5 percent to $56.99 after Macquarie said it may also be a target for a bid. Treasury 10-year yields were near a 17-month low today on speculation the Federal Reserve will increase its Treasury purchases in the coming weeks to stem a slowdown in U.S. economic growth. The Fed plans to buy Treasuries due from August 2016 to August 2020 tomorrow, after purchasing $2.551 billion of securities yesterday, to spur the economy by keeping borrowing costs low. James Bullard, president of the Fed Bank of St. Louis, said the central bank may need to buy more if inflation keeps slowing, in an article yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. The number of mortgage applications in the U.S. increased last week, propelled by a surge in refinancing as borrowing costs hovered near record lows. The Mortgage Bankers Association’s index rose 13 percent in the week ended Aug. 13, the Washington-based group said today. Refinancing jumped 17 percent to reach the highest level since May 2009, while purchases fell 3.4 percent. To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net

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