U.S. stocks fell and the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index retreated from an eight-month high as consumer confidence trailed projections and companies from Office Depot Inc. to Coach Inc. posted worse-than-estimated results. Commodities and Treasuries dropped, and the dollar rose.

American Express Co. and Exxon Mobil Corp. helped lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower as the Conference Board report reinforced concern that higher unemployment will undermine consumer sentiment. Office Depot, the second-largest business-supply retailer, slid 18 percent and Coach, the biggest U.S. maker of luxury leather handbags, lost 1.3 percent. Losses were limited as technology and health-care stocks gained.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3 percent to 979.62 at 4:27 p.m. in New York after a two-week rally left the index trading at 16.23 times its companies’ earnings from the past year, the most expensive valuation since September. The Dow lost 11.79 points, or 0.1 percent, to 9,096.72. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slumped 0.9 percent.

(Bloomberg.com)