Market plunges as oil surges, outlook darkens - Sydney Morning Herald 27-6-08
Wall Street stocks have tumbled, sending blue chips to a two-year low, as oil prices leapt to fresh highs and sentiment was hit by a barrage of troubling economic and corporate news.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 354.42 points, or 3%, to 11,457.41 at the closing bell. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite tumbled 77.36 points, or 3.22%, to 2323.90 and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index retreated 38.11 points, or 2.88%, to a preliminary close of 1283.86.
The market got off to a weak start after a broker downgrade of banking giant Citigroup and tepid forecasts from big tech firms Oracle and Research in Motion as well as sporting goods giant Nike.
The selloff accelerated as crude oil futures surged.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, closed up a hefty $US5.29 at $US139.64 a barrel, marking a record finish, after topping $US140 for the first time.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract was 122 points lower at 5191. The Australian dollar was trading at 95.63 US cents, compared to 95.61 late yesterday.
