Stocks resumed their declines as European equities slumped and U.S. index futures erased gains. Treasuries pared losses, oil traded below $80 a barrel and gold extended gains. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated 3.5 percent at 9:49 a.m. in London. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 percent, after climbing as much as 3.3 percent. Treasuries, the benchmarks for the $34 trillion U.S. debt market that is more than twice the value of American equities, fell with the 10- year note yield increasing five basis points to 2.37 percent. The Italian 10-year yield slid 20 basis points to 5.09 percent. The yen appreciated against all 16 major peers. Oil sank 3.5 percent in New York, while gold topped $1,770 an ounce. Fed policy makers will meet today as the unprecedented downgrade of the U.S.’s top credit rating increases the likelihood that America’s recovery will falter. Speculation is growing Chairman Ben S. Bernanke may do more to help restore confidence, with Harvard University economist Kenneth Rogoff predicting that the U.S. central bank will embark on a third round of asset purchases. “The recent stock market falls have highlighted that world growth is weakening, raising the prospect of a recessionary scenario, and governments need to do something about that type of scenario,” said Jason Teh, who helps manage about $3 billion at Investors Mutual Ltd. in Sydney. “The question is, when do you expect the government to provide some sort of intervention measure or stimulus?” Stock Rout The MSCI All-Country World Index fell for a 10th day, the longest losing streak since July 2008 as the slump wiped out $7.8 trillion in the value of global equities. The gauge for developed and emerging markets fell as much as 2 percent today, extending declines from this year’s high in May to 20 percent, the threshold for a bear market. Investors fleeing from riskier assets yesterday on the first trading day after S&P’s downgrade sought refuge in Treasuries, driving the market value of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Global Broad Market Index higher by $132.4 billion since the end of July to $42.1 trillion, the most in data going back to 1996. Futures for September delivery on the S&P 500 earlier dropped as much as 3.2 percent. The gauge sank 11 percent in the previous three trading days. Companies on the gauge now trade at 11.3 times estimated profits, the lowest level since March 2009, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Yields Rise Treasury 10-year yields rebounded after sliding to 2.27 percent, the lowest since January 2009. Thirty-year rates climbed three basis points to 3.69 percent. Moody’s Investors Service reiterated yesterday that it affirmed the U.S. government’s top Aaa ranking because the dollar’s status as the main reserve currency allows it to support higher debt levels than other countries. Fitch Ratings affirmed its AAA grade for the U.S. last week. The U.S. AA+ at S&P is still higher than Japan or China. The Fed will move “more decisively” to secure the U.S. recovery, Rogoff told Bloomberg Television in an interview. Bernanke and his colleagues, who are scheduled to release a statement at about 2:15 p.m. New York time, may prolong a pledge to maintain record monetary stimulus, said economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co., BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross said he’s buying assets as the losses in global markets are being driven by fear rather than economic reality. “Has the world really gotten 10, 12, 15 percent worse in the last 48 hours? I don’t think so,” Ross, who leads WL Ross & Co., said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “Buying stocks at today’s prices over a couple of years’ time period will prove to be a uniquely rewarding experience.” To contact the reporters on this story: Stephen Kirkland in London at skirkland@bloomberg.net; To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Sillitoe at psillitoe@bloomberg.net

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