April 12 (Bloomberg) -- Metals and energy plunged, with commodities poised for the worst drop since November, as U.S. retail sales and consumer confidence unexpectedly fell. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated from a record, led by banks after Wells Fargo & Co. reported earnings. Treasuries and the dollar rose. The S&P/GSCI Index tumbled 2.2 percent to the lowest level since July as silver sank 6 percent, gold plunged more than 4 percent to below $1,500 an ounce and crude oil lost more than 3 percent. The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.8 percent while emerging market technology stocks fell the most this year after Infosys Ltd.’s sales forecast missed estimates. The 10-year Treasury note yield decreased six basis points to 1.73 percent, while the dollar strengthened against 13 of 16 major peers. Retail sales in the U.S. fell in March by the most in nine months, Commerce Department figures showed, and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment sank to the lowest level since July. European stocks and the euro declined earlier as the currency bloc’s finance ministers prepared to meet in Dublin. “The economic numbers in the U.S. are turning soft,� John Kinsey, who helps manage about C$1 billion ($987.5 million) at Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. in Toronto, said in a telephone interview. “The last few numbers from the U.S. haven’t been all that robust.� Fifteen of the 24 commodities tracked by the S&P GSCI Index retreated, extending the gauge’s weekly decline to 1.5 percent. Oil Tumbles West Texas Intermediate oil for May delivery fell 3.4 percent to $90.34 a barrel for its biggest drop since November. Brent crude for May settlement slid 2.8 percent to $101.40 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The International Energy Agency yesterday reduced its estimates for global oil demand. The S&P 500 closed yesterday at a record 1,593.37 after more than doubling from its 12-year low in March 2009, helped by the Federal Reserve’s unprecedented bond purchases and three straight years of profit growth. Analysts forecast S&P 500 earnings fell last quarter for the first time since 2009, projecting a 1.4 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2012, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit growth is projected to return later in the year, with full-year earnings forecast to increase 7.3 percent, the data show. ‘Weak Note’ The 0.4 percent decrease in retail sales, the biggest since June, followed a 1 percent gain in February, according to the Commerce Department. The median forecast of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for an unchanged reading in March. Department stores and electronics dealers were among the weakest showings. The Reuters/Michigan consumer-confidence index fell to 72.3 in April, below all 69 estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. “The first quarter really ended up on a weak note,� David Chalupnik, head of equities at Nuveen Asset Management in Minneapolis, said in a phone interview. His firm manages $120 billion. “We’re concerned that with the economy ending on a weak note, the commentary from companies as they report might be a bit negative compared with what people are expecting and that could put pressure on the market.� Banks slipped 1.9 percent as a group, the biggest decline among 24 industries in the S&P 500. Wells Fargo & Co. slid 2 percent after results showed revenue dropped and lending margins narrowed, overshadowing record first-quarter profit that was helped by cost cuts. JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 0.8 percent after reporting record profit that beat estimates on cost cuts and an improvement in consumer credit quality that let the bank reduce loan-loss reserves. Movers Harris Corp. slid 5 percent after forecasting revenue that missed analysts’ estimates. J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. lost 2.3 percent after posting first-quarter earnings that missed projections.

Source