Oil price drops to lowest since 2009, sinking energy stocks

In this June 12, 2014 file photo, a pair of tanker trucks parked next to pumps at an oil-producing well in McKenzie County, North Dakota. Lower fossil fuel prices have come at a painful cost: 122,300 lost jobs in the energy sector over the past year. Average wages have tumbled 1.5 percent to $26.72 an hour for energy production workers who kept their jobs, even as workers nationwide are earning slightly more money than a year ago. The November 2015 jobs report showed the sharp contrast between the overall economy and the ailing fossil fuels industry. AP

NEW YORK, United States — A sharp drop in the price of oil on Monday rattled investors and helped push stocks lower across several industries.

U.S. crude fell $2.32, or 5.8 percent, to close at $37.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest price since Feb. 2009. Brent crude, used to price international oils, fell $2.27, or 5.3 percent, to $40.73 a barrel in London.

Investors sold from the start of trading following a decision by OPEC last week not to cut production. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped nearly 6 percent, deepening its stunning 1½ year plunge, to close at its lowest level in nearly seven years. The losses were broad, with seven of the 10 industry sectors in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index closing lower.

As they have all year, oil drillers bore the brunt of the selling. Chevron and Exxon Mobil, both members of the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average, each fell nearly 3 percent.

“There was a big hope that OPEC would announce a production cut, but it just didn’t happen,” said Mizuho Securities Chief Economist Steven Ricchiuto. He added: “The whole world is facing excess supply as the global economy slows.”

The Dow gave up 117.12 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,730.51. The S&P 500 fell 14.62 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,077.07. The Nasdaq composite dropped 40.46 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,101.81.

Airlines stocks were among the winners as investors anticipated bigger profits thanks to falling fuel costs. JetBlue Airways jumped $1.01, or 4 percent, to $26.49. Delta Air Lines also rose 4 percent, gaining $2 to close at $51.78.

In theory, lower oil prices should help many stocks because consumers often spend money elsewhere that they save at the pump or on heating bills. But investors have been disappointed.

“Retailers have been waiting for the pump-price dividend to filter into their stores, but for the most part we’re not seeing it,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

Meanwhile, the shift in the U.S. to producing more oil has made the stock market more vulnerable to price swings in the commodity.

In each of the past three quarters, as oil prices have tanked, earnings per share for energy companies in the S&P 500 have dropped more than 50 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ, a financial data provider. After Monday’s drop, their stocks are down 22 percent since the start of the year.

Among other stocks making big moves:

—Chipotle Mexican Grill dropped $9.45, or 1.7 percent, to $551.75. The restaurant chain warned late Friday that an outbreak of E. coli linked to its restaurants sent sales plummeting by as much as 22 percent in recent weeks.

— Keurig Green Mountain soared 72 percent after agreeing to be acquired by a private equity firm. The stock jumped $37.19 to $88.89.

— Office Depot plunged nearly 16 percent after regulators said they would try to block a proposed purchase of the company by rival Staples for $6.3 billion. Office Depot dropped $1.04 to $5.59. Staples fell $1.70, or nearly 14 percent, to $10.66.

— Stocks of gun makers soared on the prospect of big sales amid a push for greater gun control following the San Bernardino shootings. Smith & Wesson Holding added $1.45, or 7.6 percent, to $20.44.

In other energy trading in New York, wholesale gasoline fell 6.1 cents, or 4.8 percent, to close at $1.209 a gallon, heating oil lost 6.3 cents, or 4.7 percent, to close at $1.280 a gallon and natural gas fell 11.9 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $2.067 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. government bond prices edged up. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.23 percent from 2.27 percent late Friday. The euro slipped to $1.0843 from $1.0871 and the dollar edged up to 123.33 yen from 123.22 yen.

Precious and industrial metals futures ended broadly lower. The price of gold slipped $8.90 to $1,075.20 an ounce, silver lost 20 cents to $14.33 an ounce and copper gave up three cents to $2.05 a pound.