U.S. stocks dropped, reversing a 1.7 percent surge in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Exxon Mobil Corp. drove energy companies lower and the government pushed Chrysler LLC into bankruptcy.

Exxon fell 2.6 percent after the world’s largest company by market value posted the biggest profit drop since 2002. Procter & Gamble Co., the largest household-products maker, slid 1.9 percent as a sales slump prompted a reduction in the company’s full-year earnings forecast. Dow Chemical Co. soared 18 percent following its unexpected profit, limiting the market’s retreat.

The S&P 500 fell 0.1 percent to 872.81, giving the benchmark index for U.S. stocks a 9.4 percent rally in April. That’s the steepest monthly advance since March 2000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 17.61 points, or 0.2 percent, to 8,168.12 today. Shares in Asia climbed and Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index recouped its 2009 loss.

Stock indexes began paring their advance midday, costing the S&P 500 the best monthly performance since 1991. The April rally was fueled by companies from Wells Fargo & Co. to Ford Motor Co. beating analysts’ profit estimates. Almost 70 percent of companies in the index that have reported since April 7 topped projections, the highest proportion since the end of 2006. The Russell 2000 Index of small U.S. companies briefly erased its 2009 loss today by rallying as much as 2 percent.

(Bloomberg.com)