U.S. stocks fell

U.S. stocks fell, snapping a three- day rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, after three officials said China’s biggest banks may fall short of loan targets as an economic slowdown crimps demand for credit.

Concern about a Chinese slowdown added to expectations for a worsening in Europe’s debt crisis. In the U.S., data showed companies placed fewer orders for computers, machinery and other capital equipment in April for a second month, indicating manufacturing in the U.S. is cooling.

Technology, industrial and financial shares in the S&P 500 retreated. Bank of America (ВАС) dropped 1.3 percent to $7.08. Caterpillar (САТ) slid 1.3 percent to $91.29.

Tiffany tumbled 7.8 percent to $57. Chief Executive Officer Michael Kowalski said sales in the Americas region “underperformed, continuing a soft trend that began in the last quarter of 2011.” Sales in the first quarter rose 3 percent to $386 million in the Americas and declined 4 percent in the New York flagship store.

NetApp Inc. plunged 14 percent to $28.20. The seller of hardware and software for storing data forecast first-quarter earnings trailing analysts’ estimates amid a weak economic outlook.

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) jumped 3.1 percent to $21.74. Chief Executive Officer Meg Whitman is cutting jobs and streamlining businesses as the company grapples with slower demand for printers, services and data-center equipment, leading to a third-quarter profit forecast that was less than analysts predicted. The 8 percent workforce reduction, taking place through firings and early retirement offers, will generate annual savings of as much as $3.5 billion starting in 2014.

Dow Chemical Co. rallied 2.6 percent to $31.32. The chemical maker said an arbitration panel ruled that Kuwait must pay $2.16 billion in damages after it canceled a 2008 agreement to buy a stake in the company’s plastics business.