NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks were falling sharply for a second day on Wednesday, dragged lower once again by a tumble in commodity prices, most notably oil.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 222 points, or 1.4 percent, to 16,209 as of 11:25 a.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 25 points, or 1.3 percent, to 1,896 and the Nasdaq composite was down 60 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,443.
CRUDE CONCERNS: Saudi Arabia’s oil minister, Ali Al-Naimi, told a meeting of energy leaders in Houston this week that production cuts aimed at supporting falling crude prices won’t work. He said that the market should instead let some operators go out of business. Crude oil tumbled more than 4 percent on Tuesday and continued its fall on Wednesday.
Crude oil was down $1.19, or 3.7 percent, to $30.68 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price oils internationally, fell 70 cents, or 2 percent, to $32.59 a barrel.
SAFETY: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 1.66 percent from 1.72 percent as investors sought safety amid the broad market decline. Gold prices rose more than 2 percent to $1,248 an ounce.
Despite some substantial gains in recent days, many investors remain hesitant to commit more money to the market and don’t need much reason to sell, analysts say.
“Fundamentally, there’s nothing that shows the U.S. economy is faltering here. But people continue to be worried about low commodity prices and there is general unease that has lingered from how the markets started this year,” said David Kelly, chief investment strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.
PAYING DOWN DEBT: Chesapeake Energy rose 28 cents, or 16 percent, to $2.56. The oil and gas production company reported a $14.9 billion loss for 2015 as the company wrote down the value of its oil producing properties, however the company also said it was selling off assets to pay down debt.
CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 111.17 yen from 111.97 yen in the previous day’s trading. The euro rose to $1.1037 from $1.1018.