U.S. stocks fell, a day after the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index failed to hold at an almost four- year high, as sales of previously owned houses missed estimates and data from Europe and China spurred economic concern.

Stocks pared losses after Greece’s finance minister said yesterday’s approval of a bailout means the nation is tied to the euro area. Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) and KB Home dropped more than 2.7 percent to pace a slump in homebuilders. Dell Inc. (DELL) sank 6.1 percent as its sales forecast missed estimates. Financial shares had the biggest decline in the S&P 500 among 10 groups, falling 1.1 percent. Gannett Co. (GCI), the owner of 82 newspapers including USA Today, surged 4.4 percent as it will boost its dividend.

Canadian cattle supplies have been shrinking since 2005 and, in the short term beef supplies will likely be even tighter as producers try to hold back heifers and rebuild the herd. Statistics Canada released on Monday the results of its semiannual survey of cattle operations and the data contained a sobering, although somewhat disorienting, view of current conditions. Probably the more surprising result from the survey was that the number of beef cows on January 1, 2012 was down 1% from the previous year. The Canadian beef cow herd is down 20% from its peak in 2005. The smaller beef cow inventory is a surprising result considering:

Canada’s dollar slackened through parity with its U.S. counterpart for the first time in four days as risk appetite ebbed and stocks dropped on bets global economic growth may stall.

The currency weakened for a second day on speculation technical indicators are pointing to a stronger U.S. dollar versus its major peers, according to Camilla Sutton at Scotia Capital. Global stocks fell.

“Risk-seeking sentiment has been pared back in recent days, which is likely holding back some of the higher-beta currencies like the Canadian dollar and Australian dollar,” said Brian Kim, a currency strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s RBS Securities unit in Stamford, Connecticut. Such currencies tend to rise and fall with equities and commodities.

Oil rose to a nine-month high as officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency were denied access to an Iranian military base and said negotiations “couldn’t finalize a way forward.”

Futures climbed for a fifth day after the IAEA, the United Nations’ nuclear body, said Iran refused inspectors permission to visit the Parchin base during two days of talks that ended yesterday. Crude fell as much as 0.6 percent earlier as reports showed manufacturing activity slowed in Europe and China, signs that fuel demand may decline.

“We’re just watching the Iranian story play out,” said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York. “What occurs in the market will depend on the developments there.”

Gold prices retreated from an earlier two-week high in Europe on Wednesday as persistent concerns over Europe's finances hurt the euro and weighed on stock markets, while a supply upset in major producer South Africa lifted platinum to a five-month high.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,754.93 an ounce at 1306 GMT, having earlier touched a high of $1,759.84, while U.S. gold futures for February delivery were down $1.40 an ounce at $1,757.20.

The euro struggled for traction versus the dollar, retreating from the previous day's near two-week high as optimism over a long-awaited Greek bailout deal quickly gave way to worries about economic growth and implementation risks.

The yen weakened to a seven-month low against the dollar amid speculation U.S. growth is gathering strength, damping demand for the Asian nation’s currency.

The yen slid for a fifth day versus the greenback as the extra yield offered by two-year Treasuries over similar-maturity Japanese bonds increased to a six-month high. The Dollar Index rose before a U.S. report that economists said will show existing home sales increased. The pound weakened after Bank of England minutes showed two policy makers voted for a larger increase in asset purchases than the amount finally agreed.

“With the U.S. economy rehabilitating, the trend in yields is up and there may be more upside” to the dollar against the yen, said Lauren Rosborough, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Societe Generale SA in London. “When domestic investors in Japan can see an improving yield offshore, then they would be looking to sell out of yen and buy the dollar.”

Raw sugar climbed for a fifth day in New York, the longest winning streak in a month, on speculation supplies will remain limited after a drought damaged the crop in Mexico. Coffee and cocoa slid in New York.

A drought in Mexico has reduced the crop to 5.1 million metric tons from a previous forecast of 5.3 million tons, an industry committee said on Feb. 10. Mexico now plans to approve imports of 250,000 tons of sugar, according to a proposal by the country’s economy ministry. With smaller-than-expected Mexican supplies, some sugar from Central America may be shipped to the U.S., limiting availability of sweetener to be delivered against the March contract in New York. Mexico traditionally supplies the U.S. and March raw sugar futures expire on Feb. 29.