Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks pared losses as France and Germany issued a joint statement saying they agree on the need for an ambitious response to Europe’s debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 1,207.2 at 1:08 p.m. in New York after tumbling as much as 1 percent.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael P. Regan at mregan12@bloomberg.net