Wall Street dips lower with higher oil prices

Jun 20, 2008, 22:37 GMT

New York - Major US stock market indices slid Friday to a three-month low, led by consumer and technology companies, as oil prices jumped and analysts said demand for electronics may weaken.

Declines came after Standard & Poor's said it may cut credit ratings on automakers General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co because of higher fuel costs, sending GM to its lowest level since 1982.

The price of crude oil rose 2.69 dollars to 134.62 dollars per barrel.

Software company SanDisk Corp posted its worst drop in eight months on Citigroup Inc's prediction that earnings will be less than estimated because of diminished overseas demand, according to the Bloomberg news service.

Citigroup led financial shares to a five-year low as UBS AG said the biggest US bank may post a second-quarter loss.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 220.40 points, or 1.83 per cent, to 11,842.69. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 24.90 points, or 1.85 per cent, to 1,317.93. The technology- heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 55.97 points, or 2.27 per cent, to 2,406.09.

The US currency slipped against the euro to 64.07 euro cents from 64.48 euro cents on Thursday. The dollar was also down against the Japanese currency at 107.33 yen from 107.93 yen on Thursday.

Gold dropped 50 cents to 903.70 dollars per fine ounce.