US stocks plummet amid fear of a slowing economy

US stocks, dampened by the falling service sector index of the economy, fell sharply for the second straight day Wednesday despite lower oil prices for the fourth day in a row.

The Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday that its non-manufacturing business index, which measures the service sector, dropped to 53.3 in September from 65.0 in August. The group's index of prices paid rose 14.3 points to 81.4 percent, the highest level and the biggest jump for the index in the eight-year history of the report.

The statistics showed that many business executives are concerned about the continuing rise in oil and gas prices after Hurricane Katrina and about the toll rising energy costs will take on the economy.

As more US refineries restart operating and US may tap an emergency supply of heating oil in the Northeast, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, fell 1.11 dollars to close at 62.79 dollars a barrel. In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery sank 1.10 dollars to 60.12 dollars a barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 123.75, or 1.19 percent, to 10,317.36. The decline followed a drop of 94.37, or 0.9 percent, on Tuesday. Broader stock indicators were lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 18.08, or 1.49 percent, to 1,196.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 36.34, or 1.7 percent, to 2,103.02.

Declining issues led advancers by more than 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume was 1.74 billion, up from 1.55 billion of the pervious session.

Source: Xinhua