Demand for gasoline dropped as prices climbed. The markets closed sharply lower with the Dow plunging 139 points 12,585. Nasdaq fell 13 points to 2814.
On the upside
Falling crude oil prices lifted shares of American Airlines parent AMR (NYSE: AMR) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL).
Leap Wireless (Nasdaq: LEAP) widened first quarter losses but revenue rose to surpass analyst expectations.
Men's Wearhouse (NYSE: MW) cited higher same store sales for lifting its first quarter earnings guidance.
On the downside
Global Industries (Nasdaq: GLBL) widened first quarter losses as revenue dropped.
Zalicus (Nasdaq: ZLCS) blamed sharply lower revenue for widening first quarter losses.
Tumbling silver prices weighed down shares of Endeavor Silver (NYSE: EIG) and Silvercorp Metals (NYSE: SVM).
In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 3 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks lost 3 points to 829.
