High gas prices lead to stock drop

NEW YORK – Stocks tumbled after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said higher gasoline prices curbed customer spending. The news sent many retail stocks lower, while government data showing a larger-than-expected jump in inflation also dampened investor enthusiasm.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 14.53, or 1.18 percent, to 1,219.34, its biggest point drop in almost four months.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 120.93, or 1.14 percent, to 10,513.45 and the Nasdaq composite index slid 29.98, or 1.38 percent, to 2,137.06.

Wall Street is facing increasing evidence that high energy prices, spurred by record crude oil futures, are nipping consumer spending. Wal-Mart’s stock drooped after the company blamed lower quarterly revenues on higher gasoline prices. Shares of other retailers, including Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Limited Brands Inc. dropped as well.

“We are starting to see the bite from some of the risks that have been lurking in the background, like oil,” said Hans Olsen, managing director and chief investment officer at Bingham Legg Advisers. “I think it’s going to continue to be tougher for this market to do anything positive.”

Investors also fretted over the latest reading of the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index, which rose 0.5 percent in July – the biggest increase in three months and larger than the 0.4 percent hike economists had expected. With food and energy prices removed, “core” CPI rose 0.1 percent.

Bonds rose sharply as stocks moved lower, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.21 percent from 4.28 percent late Monday. The dollar was up against the euro and gold prices fell.

Crude oil futures traded in a narrow range but remained in the mid-$60 range – high enough to keep gasoline and heating oil prices near record levels. A barrel of light crude was quoted at $66.08, down 19 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In one of the few bright spots of the session, investors welcomed the Commerce Department’s report on home construction. For July, the number of housing projects started fell slightly to an annualized 2.042 million units, but housing permits issued reached a 21-year high.

Yet the retail sector sputtered.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 11.03, or 1.66 percent, to 654.61.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.48 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.41 percent, Germany’s DAX index lost 0.78 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.49 percent.