Energy stocks sink again as price of crude falls

Specialist Thomas McArdle, center, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. U.S. stocks are opening modestly lower as indexes in Europe and China recover from a slump the previous day. (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Specialist Thomas McArdle, center, works at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014. U.S. stocks are opening modestly lower as indexes in Europe and China recover from a slump the previous day. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

By Associated Press December 10, 2014 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Energy stocks are leading a decline in U.S. indexes as the price of crude oil plunges again.

Chevron and Exxon Mobil fell the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average in midday trading Wednesday. Each stock fell about 3 percent.

The Dow was down 129 points, 0.7 percent, to 17,671 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,047. The Nasdaq composite fell 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,749.

The price of crude oil sank $3.15, or 5 percent, to $60.68 a barrel in New York.