NEW YORK (AP) - Stocks skidded Thursday as a late drop erased the market's gains from the day before. Companies that sell oil, gold and silver tumbled along with the prices of those commodities.
Thursday's slide marked the end of a three-day winning streak. Indexes drifted lower in the morning and fell sharply in the final minutes of trading. Energy stocks fell as the price of oil slumped again, and lower metals prices hurt mining companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average sank 253.25 points, or 1.4 percent, to 17,495.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 31.18 points, or 1.5 percent, to 2,041.89. The Nasdaq composite index gave up 68.58 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,002.55.
Energy and mining stocks have been pummeled this year as the sluggish global economy reduces demand even as supplies become more abundant. U.S. crude fell 57 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $34.95 a barrel in New York. It had not closed beneath $35 since Feb. 18, 2009, and traded above $60 a barrel as recently as June.
Chevron lost $2.90, or 3.1 percent, to $90.54 and Marathon Oil lost $1, or 7.3 percent, to $12.78.
Natural gas, which has fallen to 16-year lows, gave up another 3.5 cents, or 2 percent, to $1.755 per 1,000 cubic feet. The price of natural gas has tumbled as demand has collapsed. Thanks to the warm weather, customers haven't needed much gas to heat their homes this winter. And demand from industrial customers has been weak.
Metals prices gave up their gains from Wednesday. The price of gold fell $27.20, or 2.5 percent, to $1,049.60 an ounce and silver sank 54.5 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $13.703 an ounce. Copper fell 2.8 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $2.044 a pound.
Among mining stocks, Newmont Mining dropped $1.47, or 7.7 percent, to $17.61 and Freeport-McMoRan lost 57 cents, or 8.5 percent, to $6.12.
Only utility stocks traded higher. Utilities have also struggled this year, but including a tiny gain Thursday, they have risen for four days in a row and are up 4 percent over that time. Utility stocks are seen as steady performers that pay regular dividends, and some investors think payments are going to increase.
Duke Energy rose 47 cents to $70.50 and Ameren Corp. gained $1.03, or 2.4 percent, to $44.03.