U.S. stocks fell Wednesday, reversing an early gain from news of a potential merger of chemical giants, as investors considered a renewed drop in oil prices. Stocks opened higher, but were significantly lower by midday as oil turned negative and technology stocks lagged. Oil turned lower after spiking 1 percent when the U.S. Energy Department reported that weekly crude inventories fell for the first time in 11 weeks. However, distillate supplies jumped by 5 million barrels, the sharpest rise since January, as demand for the fuels fell to its lowest level since 1998. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for January delivery fell 35 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $37.16 a barrel, its lowest level since February 2009. Gold futures for February delivery rose $1.20 to $1,076.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The U.S. dollar fell versus other major currencies. In U.S. economic news, wholesale inventories fell 0.1 percent in October as businesses attempted to reduce their supplies of unsold merchandise, while sales remained flat, suggesting inventories would again limit overall economic growth in the fourth quarter. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.70, or 0.4 percent, to 17,492.30. Twenty-two of the index's 30 components fell, led by Apple and Nike, whose shares each fell more than 2 percent. Shares of DuPont jumped more than 11 percent after news it was expected to merge with Dow Chemical by Thursday. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15.97, or 0.8 percent, to 2,047.62. Earlier in the session, the index turned negative for the year. Information technology led eight sectors lower, while materials and energy were the only two rising sectors. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 75.37, or 1.5 percent, to 5,022.87. Apple shares fell 2.4 percent, and biotechnology shares also declined.
