Record-high oil prices sent U.S. stocks lower Tuesday, as a U.S. government report showed a lower-than-expected drop off in consumer spending in June on slower income growth. The spurt in crude prices sent shares of oil companies ChevronTexaco, ConocoPhillips Co. and Exxon Mobil to 52-week highs. Rising crude prices came amid U.S. government warnings of possible al-Qaeda attacks on key financial institutions as well as comments by OPEC's president, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, who said the cartel had no additional supplies that were immediately available. Still, the market shrugged off the worries on Monday. "After the surprising move up, we're settling down today," said David Memmott, head of listed block trading at Morgan Stanley. "It's incredibly quiet and seems as if everyone is waiting out the price of oil." U.S. light sweet crude futures hit a new 21-year high of $44.24 before easing to $43.65. Oil is a factor in almost every aspect of production and transportation of goods and affects the profits of almost all companies. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 22.18 points, or 0.22 percent, at 10,156.81 The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.95 points, or 0.18 percent, at 1,104.67. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.11 points, or 0.80 percent, at 1,876.98. --More 1938 Local Time 1638 GMT
