Oil, Earnings Woes Key Retreat

The markets retreated today, battered by the familiar convergence of high oil prices and poor business performance, MarketWatch reports. Amid signs of broader malaise, financials dropped, and crude again topped $135 per barrel. The Dow fell 131.24 to close at 12,029.06. The Nasdaq lost 28.02 to 2,429.71, and the S&P 500 lost 13.12, settling at 1,337.81.

“Inflation concerns are growing due to a rise in energy prices,” one analyst said after the Dow dipped below the 12,000 mark for the first time in three months. “This has led to concerns over economic growth, which continues to be pressured by the slump in housing." (More Dow Jones stories.)