S&P 500 posts worst first half since 1970

The selloff in stocks deepened after weak consumer-spending data fueled worries about a recession, with the S&P 500 suffering its cruelest first-half since Richard Nixon’s presidency.

It was a rout for the history books, with the benchmark gauge down 21% in the first six months of the year — the most for such a span since 1970. The superlatives kept piling up across Wall Street, with 10-year US yields plunging to about 3% from a decade-high of 3.5% in mid-June. The dollar had for its…