Yahoo: Stocks drop for 3rd day as oil prices soar

[chill_wind]

Stocks drop for 3rd day as oil prices soar

By CHRISTOPHER WANG, AP

"NEW YORK - Surging oil prices pulled stocks lower for a third straight session Friday, with bland earnings at General Electric Co. and weak retail sales dampening the economic outlook. The Dow Jones industrial average has lost more than 300 points this week.

Crude futures reached a record $78.40 a barrel as
Israel intensified its attacks on Lebanon, raising concerns about potential supply disruptions. A barrel of light crude recently was up $1.02 at $77.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Elsewhere, retail sales fell unexpectedly in June, dipping 0.1 percent after edging up by the same amount the previous month. Although higher gasoline prices were expected to slow consumer spending, economists had forecast a 0.4 percent increase.

(snip)

Traders work on the floor the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, July 13, 2006. Oil prices shot up to a new high, roiling stocks on Wall Street, as hostilities in the Middle East escalated. Wall Street suffers sharp loss for a second straight session as a new record for oil prices and discouraging analyst remarks about Wal-Mart Stores Inc. intensify concerns about consumer spending. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) "

the rest:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060714/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street;_ylt=AjcxDe_ZuXL2MCEYYIQCi6ub.HQA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3bGI2aDNqBHNlYwM3NDk-