Stocks drop after crude oil prices touch $130 per barrel

Friday, March 4, 2022, Vol. 46, No. 9

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell sharply on Wall Street Monday after another big leap for oil prices threatened to squeeze inflation's grip on the global economy.

The S&P 500 fell 3%, its biggest drop in 16 months, after a barrel of U.S. crude surged to nearly $120 on the possibility that Washington could bar imports from Russia.

Overseas markets also fell, taking their cue from oil's movements. Oil prices had gone as high as $130 a barrel.

Gold and a measure of nervousness on Wall Street also rose.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.4% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gave up 3.6%.