Stocks struggled Wednesday morning, giving up earlier gains, as oil
spiked past $130 a barrel, following a weaker-than-expected weekly
supply report.
Oil hits new record: U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose $1.02
to $130 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the weekly
supplies report showed a surprise drop in crude oil and gasoline
inventories and a weaker-than-expected buildup in distillates, used in
heating oil. Earlier, prices hit a record $130.47.
Oil prices have been climbing lately amid ongoing supply concerns and
the weakness in the dollar, which makes dollar-traded commodities such
as oil less expensive.
Gas hits 13th straight record: The national average price for a gallon
of regular unleaded gas rose to a record $3.807 from the previous day's
high of $3.80, according to AAA.
Company news: Time Warner, the
parent company of CNNMoney, will receive a $9.25 billion dividend as
part of its legal and structural separation from Time Warner Cable.
After the close Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard
reported a small rise in quarterly profit that matched preliminary
figures it announced last week. Shares fell 1.6% Wednesday morning.
Boeing and Hewlett-Packard were among the other big Dow losers.
AMR shares slumped 12% after
its American Airlines unit said it was cutting capacity by 11% to 12%
in the fourth quarter due to record-high oil prices.
Treasury prices slumped, raising the yield on the 10-year note to 3.82% from 3.83% late Monday.