Tuesday, May 20, 2008

129 oil & inflation news sinks stocks

Record high oil prices & more bad news on the inflation front sank stocks. Dow declined 199, decliners ahead of advancers 2-1 & NAZ was down 24. Oil reached 129.60 before backing off a little to 129. 07 up 2.02. Once again, Dow was not able to hold 13K. Meanwhile energy stocks were strong helping the MLP index (driven by different forces than oil prices) get within a hair from its magic 300 barrier. Oil near 130, with gas at the pump hitting another record of 3.80, are getting the better of investors. The wholesale inflation news in the morning didn't help markets.

There's not much to say as gloomy economics numbers weigh investors down, here are comments from analysts given to CNBC. In today's Dow, courtesy of Bloomberg.com, only Exxon (XON) & Chevron (CVX) posted gains today. Right now oil is on offense & seems to be winning!

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