NEW YORK (AP) – U.S. stocks are falling Tuesday morning as energy companies tumble with the price of oil. Mining and metals companies are also in decline. Stocks overseas were mixed.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average gave up 35 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,499 as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell three points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,034. The Nasdaq composite index lost three points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,764.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.27, or 3.2 percent, to $38.12 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $1.16, or 2.8 percent, to $39.71 a barrel in London. The price of wholesale gasoline fell 3 percent and heating oil sank 2.4 percent.
Drilling company Transocean lost 61 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $8.70. Hess fell $1.66, or 3.3 percent, to $49.18 and Chevron gave up $1.29, or 1.4 percent, to $93.39.
MEDIVATION INQUIRY: Drugmaker Medivation fell after a group of legislators urged a federal agency to take steps that could cut the price of Medivation’s prostate cancer treatment Xtandi. Xtandi is Medivation’s only approved drug, and sales topped $1 billion last year. The stock shed $4.80, or 11.6 percent, to $36.45.