U.S. stocks fell for a second day after JPMorgan Chase & Co. said deteriorating credit markets will reduce profits at the four biggest securities firms, while lower oil prices dimmed the earnings outlook for energy companies.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch & Co. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. declined after JPMorgan analysts said the brokerages may write down more assets infected by subprime losses. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. led energy companies to their first drop in five days after crude prices fell to a six-week low.

The S&P 500 lost 7.18, or 0.5 percent, to 1,465.24 at 11:45 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 36.33, or 0.3 percent, to 13,278.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 11.11, or 0.4 percent, to 2,626.02. More than two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Benchmark indexes in Europe and Asia also slumped.

“We haven’t found all the skeletons yet,” said Rick Campagna, who helps manage $3 billion at Provident Investment Counsel in Pasadena, California. “Until credit loosens up you can’t get a solid footing in the market.”

Financial companies, which account for about one-fifth of the S&P 500’s value, have tumbled 18 percent as a group this year as securities firms and banks announced $66 billion of writedowns linked to subprime mortgage losses. The 93-member S&P 500 Financials Index still has gained 7 percent from its two-year low on Nov. 26 as traders increased wagers the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates to keep the economy from contracting. [MORE]