Oil Greases Another Big Slide

US stocks fell today as crude futures continued to rise and Federal Reserve data showed “generally weak” economic growth in April and May, MarketWatch reports. The Dow lost 205.99, closing at 12,083.77. The Nasdaq dropped 54.93 to 2,394.01, and the S&P 500 fell 22.95 to 1,335.49, with only energy shares bucking the downward trend.

Investors see the economy caught between inflation and its bitter medicine, interest rate hikes: "Any attempt to slow the rise in inflation by rising rates will put downside pressure on a fragile U.S. economy," one analyst said. "For this market to stop declining, we either need better economic news or a halt in the run-up in the price of oil.” (More NASDAQ stories.)