Stocks plunged again today with Wall Street capping off one of its worst weeks of the year as tumbling oil prices spooked markets.
As USA Today reports, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 308 points, or 1.8%, to 17,287. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index tumbled 32 points, or 1.6%, to 2003. The Dow and S&P 500 were both down more than 3% for the week. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 54 points, or 1.2%, to 4,654, and was down about 2.5% for the week.
Falling oil prices weighed on the stock market again. Oil slumped after the International Energy Agency said global oil demand in 2015 will grow less than previously forecast. U.S. benchmark oil slipped $2.14, or 3.6%, to $57.81 a barrel. Energy stocks in the S&P 500 index fell 1.4%, taking their loss for the year to 15.9%.
In economic news, the Labor Department reports the producer price index declined 0.2% in November, after rising by the same amount in October. In the past 12 months, producer prices have risen just 1.4%, the smallest 12-month increase since February.
