U.S. stocks are down for the third morning in a row, furthering the week's losses, as the price of crude fell to multi-year lows as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries cut its demand outlook for next year.
OPEC reduced its estimate for 2015 by roughly 300,000 barrels a day, with the cartel saying the effect of the 40 percent drop in prices on supply and demand is uncertain.
The CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of investor uncertainty known as the VIX, jumped 9.2 percent to 16.26.
Toll Brothers edged lower after the home builder reported mixed quarterly results; Yum Brands fell after the operator of Taco Bell and other fast-food brands cut is profit outlook for the year for a second time; Costco Wholesale climbed after the warehouse-club operator posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit and GlaxoSmithKline declined after Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded its stock to underperform from neutral.
After a 131-point drop, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was more recently off 113.64 points, or 0.6 percent, to 17,687.56, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil leading blue-chip losses that extended to 21 of 30 components.
The S&P 500 dropped 11.68 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,048.14, with the energy sector hardest hit and utilities the best performing among its 10 major industry groups.
The Nasdaq fell 18.98 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,747.48.
For every share rising, nearly three fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 117 million shares traded as of 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Composite volume approached 460 million.
After falling as low as $61.87 a barrel, its lowest since July 17, 2009, Crude futures for January delivery were lately off $1.89, or 3 percent, to $61.93 a barrel; the February gold contract rose 70 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $1,232.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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