Energy-price decline sends stocks down

NEW YORK - A slump in energy prices pushed the stock market back from record levels on Tuesday.

Energy stocks slid as the price of oil resumed its descent. Traders speculated that member nations of the Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries would fail to agree on production cuts at a meeting in Vienna on Thursday. Oil has dropped almost a third from a peak in June.

While lower oil prices are a boon to consumers and many companies, they are a drag on stocks because the energy sector accounts for about 10 percent of the stock market's earnings.

Despite the losses, the major indexes remain close to all-time highs.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.38 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,067.03. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.96 points, or 0.02 percent, to 17,814.94. The Nasdaq composite gained 3.36 points, or 0.07 percent, to 4,758.25.

Stocks started the day with small gains after a report showed that the U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.9 percent annual rate in the July-September period, faster than the 3.5 percent that was initially reported. The upward revision was due to higher estimates of spending by consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said.

That positive report was tempered by news that U.S. consumer confidence fell in November. The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index fell to 88.7, down from a seven-year high of 94.5 in October.

Among individual stocks, Pall, a company that makes filters for the food and health care industries, was the leading gainer in the S&P 500. The company's stock jumped $3.31, or 3.5 percent, to $98 after its earnings beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts.

Energy stocks slid along with oil prices. The sector dropped 1.6 percent and is down 3.2 percent for the year - the only one of the 10 S&P 500 industry sectors that is down for the year.

Oil started the day higher, but slid on reports that representatives from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico and Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft had failed on Tuesday to agree on any immediate plans to cut output. The oil-producing nations were meeting ahead of OPEC's Thursday meeting.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell $1.69 to close at $74.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell $1.35 to close at $78.33 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

While falling energy prices will help put more money in consumer pockets ahead of the holiday spending season, a longer slump in prices might start to impact hiring in the U.S. energy industry, said Jim Russell, a portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor, a wealth management firm.

In metals trading, the price of gold rose $1.40 to $1,197.10 an ounce. Silver rose 18 cents to $16.55 an ounce and copper fell four cents to $2.96 a pound.

U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.26 percent from 2.31 percent Monday.

In other energy futures trading on the NYMEX, wholesale gasoline fell 0.1 cent to close at $2.03 a gallon. Heating oil fell 0.1 cent to close at $2.40 a gallon. Natural gas rose 13.1 cents to close at $4.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.