U.S. Stocks Fall Amid Oil Price Surge and Rate Hike Concerns

NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- U. S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, marking a fourth consecutive session of declines, as crude oil prices extended their sharp ascent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 316.56 points, or 0.60 percent, to 52,064.10. The benchmark S&P 500 sank 44.66 points, or 0.58 percent, to 7,591.70, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 171.62 points, or 0.65 percent, to 26,081.73. Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed in the red. Materials and utilities paced the declines, dropping 1.48 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Bucking the downward trend, communication services and consumer staples managed modest gains, rising 0.25 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively. Energy markets rallied aggressively after U. S. President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that elevated fuel costs could persist through the upcoming midterm elections. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery surged 6.43 U. S. dollars, or 6.69 percent, to settle at 102.48 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Concurrently, Brent crude for November delivery jumped 6.42 dollars, or 6.34 percent, to close at 107.63 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Inflationary pressures remained front and center on Wall Street following Thursday's release of wholesale price data. The U. S. Department of Labor reported that the producer price index (PPI) increased 5.4 percent year-on-year in August, while the core measure, which strips out food and energy costs, rose 4.6 percent year-on-year. The persistent price increases, compounded by surging energy benchmarks, prompted traders to aggressively increase their bets on monetary tightening. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point interest rate increase at the central bank's upcoming policy meeting rose to 73 percent, up from 64 percent prior to the PPI release. In corporate earnings, enterprise software provider Oracle was down more than 5 percent during trading hours but saw its shares surge nearly 7 percent in extended trading after delivering stronger-than-expected quarterly financial results. Apple surged 3.56 percent following the launch of the company's first foldable smartphone. Market participants are now turning their attention to Friday's release of the August consumer price index, the final critical inflation metric before the Federal Open Market Committee convenes for its interest rate decision next week.