Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Trader Jason Weisberg works Thursday in his booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones industrial average had its biggest one-day drop since August.
ap photo
NEW YORK — Weak economic news from China, the U.S. and Spain combined with a slump in oil companies sent stocks sharply lower Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average had its biggest one-day drop since August.
Investors were jarred when China reported a surprise trade deficit. China’s exports fell in February as businesses closed for the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday, but imports of higher-priced oil and other goods jumped, widening the country’s deficit to $7.3 billion.
Moody’s downgraded Spain’s debt, re-igniting fears about Europe’s debt crisis. In the U.S., the government reported that new applications for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
Thursday’s drop in the Dow was the biggest since Aug. 11. The S&P had a larger fall recently, dropping 27.57 points on Feb. 22 as the uprising against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi gained strength.
News that forces loyal to Gadhafi were poised to recapture the strategic oil port of Ras Lanouf from opposition forces sent oil down in the morning. Crude bounced higher later in the day after Saudi Arabian police fired at protesters. Crude oil lost $1.68 to settle at $102.70 per barrel, below the high of nearly $107 a barrel it reached on Monday.
Stocks fell broadly, but energy companies were hit the hardest. Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest company in the world by market value, fell 3.6 percent. Chevron Corp. also fell 3 percent. Energy companies fell 3.6 percent, the most of any industry tracked by S&P.
Oil has been surging over the past few weeks because of the spreading protests in North Africa the Middle East. Libya produces less than 2 percent of the world’s oil supply, investors have been worried that unrest will spread to major oil-producing countries and disrupt the flow of crude.