US STOCKS fall on central-bank uncertainty

U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index down for a third day, as the dollar declined against the yen and uncertainty about U.S. monetary policy kept investors on edge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell as much as 0.4%, at 15,057.93.

The S&P 500 index lost 0.6%, to 1,619.84.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5%, to 3,419.20.

In deal news Wednesday, India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd. is acquiring Ohio’s Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in a $2.5 billion transaction in cash in a deal expected to close in the second half of 2013. Shares of Cooper Tire rallied 41% in recent trading.

Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.  rose 2.3% after the merger between Apollo Tyres and Cooper Tire was announced.

Hewlett-Packard Co. rallied 3.4% on Wednesday after Chief Executive Meg Whitman said on CNBC that the company is right where it wants to be in its 5-year recovery plan and the next phase will be revenue growth.

Pfizer Inc.  shares rose 0.6% after it won a $2.15 billion settlement from two pharmaceutical companies over patent infringement, ending a 10-year fight.

Gigamon Inc. soared 45% on its debut on the market. The data-management technology company priced its initial public offering at $19 a share. It offered 4.5 million shares while a few of its stockholders sold a combined 2.25 million shares.

Herbalife Ltd.  shares advanced 5.7%. The nutrition supplement company late Tuesday released the results of a study that showed that “3.3% of U.S. adults, or 7.9 million, have purchased Herbalife products for personal use within past three months.”

Shares of Spectra Energy Corp. rose 11%. Spectra Energy was upgraded to a buy rating from hold by Deutsche Bank on Wednesday.

First Solar Inc.  shares sank 8.1%. The solar company said Tuesday it has started a public offering of 8.5 million shares of common stock. The proceeds will fund general corporate purposes, which could include acquisitions of or investments in solar power system projects, the company said.

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