Stocks Drop Sharply on Oil Price Jitters

While the Commerce Department reported a 5.5 percent rise in orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods last month, much of that was due to a surge in demand for commercial aircraft. With transportation orders removed, durable goods orders fell 0.2 percent in May, the third decline in the past four months.

Investors fear that increased energy costs will ultimately eat into manufacturing profits, and those fears were heightened as crude oil futures made another push toward the psychologically significant $60 per barrel mark, which was reached Thursday and prompted a major stock sell-off.

“The crude situation is a big concern right now,” said Brian Williamson, an equity trader at The Boston Company Asset Management. “People aren’t really looking at the economic numbers.”
Forbes