NEW YORK — Stocks are finishing lower as higher oil prices weighed on the market.
Oil hit a two-year high early in the day, nearing $107 a barrel, after forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi launched airstrikes against opposition fighters at an oil port. Benchmark West Texas crude gained $1.02 to settle at $105.44 per barrel.
A sustained rise in the price of oil could hurt the economic recovery by raising transportation costs.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 80 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 12,090.
The S&P 500 index fell 11 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,310. The Nasdaq fell 39 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,745.
More than three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was 1 billion shares.