Wall Street ends lower as crude slumps

(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors)U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as oil declined again. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.7% at 17603.87. The S&P 500 index closed 0.7% lower at 2063.36. Energy stocks led declines in the S&P 500 falling 1.5%. Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.8% to end at 5065.85. Crude oil settled 3.4% lower. U.S. crude prices have declined 31% this year. Pep Boys — Manny Moe & Jack fell 2.9% following news that activist investor Carl Icahn would buy the Philadelphia-based auto-parts chain ending the bidding war with Japanese tire company Bridgestone Corp. KaloBios Pharmaceuticals—the company that is majority owned by controversial biotech investor Martin Shkreli—has filed for bankruptcy. Shares have been halted since Dec. 17 the day that Shkreli was arrested on fraud charges. Pending home sales dipped 0.9% in November missing economists' expectations for a 1% increase. Trading volumes have been light this week. Financial markets in the U.S. Europe and Japan will be closed on Friday for the New Year's holiday. LUNCHTIME Wall Street retreated on Wednesday pressured by a drop in oil prices. At 12:58 p.m. in New York The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) was down 0.3% at 17663.42. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) fell 0.4% to 2070.57. The Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) also dropped 0.4% to 5087.62. West Texas Intermediate for February delivery fell 3.1% to $36.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent the global benchmark declined 3.2% to $36.58 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Oil prices tumbled after data showed an unexpected increase in U.S. crude supplies and Saudi Arabia reiterated its commitment to keeping oil production high. MARKET OPEN Wall Street opened lower on Wednesday as crude prices slumped amid fear of expanding crude inventories in the U.S. At 9:59 a.m. in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) slid 0.2% to 17681.05 the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) retreated 0.3% to 2073.20 while the Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) sank 0.4% to 5088.39. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2.6% at $36.90 a barrel while February Brent crude fell 2.1% to $36.98 a barrel. A gauge of pending home sales dipped 0.9% in November. The National Association of Realtors' monthly index fell to 106.9 after rising in October for the first time in two months. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) fell 0.6%. A federal judge certified two shareholder class action lawsuits against the tech giant accusing the company of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts ahead of its initial public offering in 2012. PRE-MARKET Wall Street is poised to a lower open on Wednesday as crude prices slumped amid fear of expanding crude inventories in the U.S. As of 8:06 a.m. in New York S&P 500 futures fell 0.24% to 2067 while those for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.27%. Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.16%. Oil futures were sharply lower Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2.6% at $36.90 a barrel while February Brent crude fell 2.1% to $36.98 a barrel. Shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) fell as much as 1.1% and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) dropped 1.3% in premarket trading. In economic data a November report on pending home sales is due at 10 a.m. Elsewhere in economic news International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned in a guest column for Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper that global economic growth will be 'disappointing and uneven in 2016.' Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) slid as much as 0.4% in early trading. A federal judge certified two shareholder class action lawsuits against the tech giant accusing the company of hiding concerns about its growth forecasts ahead of its initial public offering in 2012. Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY) slipped as much as 2.6%. Japanese tire maker Bridgestone pulled out of its bidding war for Pep Boys after activist investor Carl Icahn raised his bid to $18.50 per share.