Dow Falls 16.74 as Oil Record Overpowers Rate-Cut Hopes
It seems hopes for Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts can carry stocks just so far.</br></br>A day after sprinting 180.54 points higher on expectations that the Fed will lower short-term interest rates next week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 16.74 points, or 0.13%, to 13291.65, leaving it up 6.6% year-to-date.</br></br>The Dow spent most of the day in positive territory, aiming for its first three-day advance in more than a month, but it lost steam after oil hit an exchange-record high for a second day.</br></br>In addition, the dollar hit a low against the euro amid worries that the economy is weakening. Expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates at its Tuesday meeting, making the dollar less attractive to investors, also weighed on the U.S. currency.</br></br>The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was nearly unchanged, gaining 0.07 point to 1471.56, up 3.8% for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.2%, or 5.40 points, to 2592.07, ahead 7.3% for 2007.