Oil Reaches ?08 Levels, Fuels Stock Slide

[Stocks-to-Watch]

Stocks endured another day of heavy selling, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 125 points in mid-afternoon trading, as oil continued to climb on political worries.

Light sweet crude for April delivery rose to more than $98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the contract’s highest price since October 2008. Brent crude, a benchmark for European supplies, rose on the ICE futures exchange briefly above $1.09 a barrel.

With violence continuing in Libya, many companies have shut down their operations in the nation. Some analysts estimate that the turmoil has affected one million barrels of oil. (Libya on average exports approximately 1.3 million barrels a day, mostly to European nations.) OPEC nations have said they can supply any lost oil, but some analysts are skeptical, since Libya is known for its high-grade output.

Earnings news is also weighing on stocks, as Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) sank more than 10% after the company reined in its revenue forecast for the year on weak sales. Few have heeded the call to buy on the shares’ weakness.



Original Article Source by Barrons.com