Oil, Earnings Woes Key Retreat

Familiar factors push markets down
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2008 3:34 PM CDT
Oil, Earnings Woes Key Retreat
FedEx workers load a cargo plane at Logan International Airport in Boston, Wednesday, May 28, 2008.   (AP Photo/Bill Sikes)

The markets retreated today, battered by the familiar convergence of high oil prices and poor business performance, MarketWatch reports. Amid signs of broader malaise, financials dropped, and crude again topped $135 per barrel. The Dow fell 131.24 to close at 12,029.06. The Nasdaq lost 28.02 to 2,429.71, and the S&P 500 lost 13.12, settling at 1,337.81.

“Inflation concerns are growing due to a rise in energy prices,” one analyst said after the Dow dipped below the 12,000 mark for the first time in three months. “This has led to concerns over economic growth, which continues to be pressured by the slump in housing." (More Dow Jones stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X