Stocks Closed Sharply Lower on Oil, Geopolitical Worries

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Wednesday as the plunging crude-oil prices and fears about North Korea’s nuclear capabilities unsettled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 252.15 points, or 1.47%, to 16,906.51. The S&P 500 dropped 26.45 points, or 1.31%, to 1,990.26. The Nasdaq Composite was down 55.67 points, or 1.14%, to 4,835.77.

Crude oil prices plunged 6 percent on Wednesday, diving below $35 per barrel for the first time since 2004 as data showing a shockingly large build-up of U.S. gasoline supplies fed fears that a global surplus was still growing. Brent futures fell $2.19 to settle at $34.23 a barrel. Earlier, it fell to as low as $34.13, its lowest level since the start of July 2004.

An official account of the December meeting, published Wednesday, emphasized the expectation of Fed officials that “economic conditions would evolve in a manner that would warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate” over the next year. And that is the plan if everything goes well. The minutes indicate that some officials are worried the Fed is once again overestimating the health of the economy.

Companies in the U.S. that offer services, such as retailers, real-estate firms and financial companies, grew again in December but at the slowest pace in a year and a half, a survey of senior executives showed. The Institute for Supply Management said its nonmanufacturing index fell to 55.3% from 55.9% in November.

Macy’s Inc. on Wednesday reported a worse-than-expected holiday quarter and outlined plans to cut $400 million in annual costs by closing stores and cutting thousands of jobs.