Stocks fall following jump in oil, UPS profit warning

NEW YORK — Wall Street extended its losses Wednesday as a rise in oil prices and a profit warning from United Parcel Service Inc. raised investors' anxiety about the well-being of the economy.

Technology names were among the steepest decliners, with the tech-dominated Nasdaq composite index falling more than 1 percent.

The surge in oil prices weighed on transportation stocks and contributed to a pessimistic tone in the market. Crude prices jumped following a government report showing U.S. inventories fell by more than expected last week. The rise hurt shares of airline and trucking companies, which have already struggled with high fuel costs.

UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, pointed to a weaker economy and higher fuel costs in trimming its forecast. Investors earlier this week received reports from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. and chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. that have made the market uneasy about overall first-quarter results.

Joe Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for the brokerage service Thinkorswim Group Inc., said investors are nervous about the implications, including inflation, of higher oil prices. Still, he said the relative calmness seen in the markets in recent sessions is impressive even as investors remain cautious about the economy.

"It's the first week we have had in a while where stocks are trading on their own merit. That's why we're trading on oil," he said. "It's amazing how well the market has held in there with three days of not good news."

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 49.18, or 0.39 percent, to 12,527.26.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 11.05, or 0.81 percent, to 1,354.49, and the Nasdaq declined 26.64, or 1.13 percent, to 2,322.12.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 13.54, or 1.90 percent, to 698.38.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.22 billion shares compared with 1.2 billion shares traded Tuesday.

Bond prices jumped as stocks declined. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.47 percent from 3.56 percent late Wednesday.

Light, sweet crude jumped $2.37 to settle at a record $110.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising as high as $112.21. The previous record, set last month, was $111.80.