Dow plummets as oil price rises continue

Rising crude oil prices and disappointing earnings from Hewlett-Packard sent stocks plummeting today, with the Dow shedding more than 120 points and all three major indexes reaching new year-to-date lows.

Crude surged past the 45 dollars per barrel mark on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That raised concerns that the Federal Reserve, which hiked interest rates to 1.5% on Tuesday, would have to be aggressive in further rate increases to combat inflation – at the same time that earnings growth and the economy is slowing down.