Most Stock Funds Have Fallen in Q1-Lipper NEW YORK (Reuters) - Most U.S. stock funds have lost value in the first quarter, mirroring the drop in the stock market over the same period, according to fund research firm Lipper Inc. U.S. diversified stock funds have fallen an average of 3 percent in the quarter, which ends on Thursday. All equity funds have fallen about 2.68 percent through March 24. Only funds that invested primarily in natural resources and utilities, which benefited from high oil prices and the boom in commodity prices, did well, Lipper found. Natural resources funds rose an average of 11.25 percent while utility funds were up about 1.58 percent. U.S. growth funds, which make riskier investments seeking higher returns, were particularly hard hit. Large-cap, multi-cap, and small-cap growth funds lost about 5 percent of their value, while mid-cap growth funds dropped an average of 3.13 percent. Within the universe of U.S. diversified equity funds, value funds outperformed growth funds in the first quarter, but still fell, according to the preliminary Lipper data. Mid-cap funds outperformed large-cap and small-cap funds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen about 3.15 percent since the beginning of the year and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index has dipped about 3.34 percent. Funds that invest in specific sectors also saw their returns fall, dropping an average of about 4.8 percent in the quarter. World equity funds, which include global and international stock funds, fell only about 0.24 percent in the quarter. Lipper Inc. is a unit of Reuters Group Plc. Quelle "Most Stock Funds Have Fallen in Q1-Lipper" : reuters.com Main page for "Most Stock Funds Have Fallen in Q1-Lipper"