U.S. stocks declined following six straight weeks of gains as concern grew that credit losses are worsening and lower commodity prices dragged down energy and material producers.

Bank of America Corp., the lender that lost three-quarters of its market value in the past year, tumbled 21 percent as rising charge-offs for uncollectible loans overshadowed better- than-estimated earnings. Citigroup Inc. dropped 19 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the bank’s credit losses are growing at a “rapid rate.” U.S. Steel Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. declined as oil and industrial metal prices decreased.

“The market seems to follow the direction of financial stocks one way or another,” said Keith Wirtz, who helps oversee $20 billion as chief investment officer at Fifth Third Asset Management in Cincinnati. “There are definitely more writedowns ahead and more challenges for the loan portfolios, particularly in the consumer side of the equation.”

At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is down about 290 points, or 3.5 percent, to the 7,842 level. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is down 37, or 4.3 percent, at 833, and the Nasdaq composite index is down 65, or 3.9 percent, at 1,608.The Russell 2000 Index retreated 5.2 percent. Nineteen stocks fell for each gaining on the New York Stock Exchange, the broadest decline in six weeks.

The VIX, which measures the cost of using options as insurance against declines in the S&P 500, jumped 16 percent to 39.22 for its steepest advance since February. The index, which has fallen for four straight weeks, closed at a six-month low on April 17.

(Source: Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)