Stocks dragged down by sagging consumer confidence

NEW YORK — Wall Street ended an erratic session moderately lower today as concerns grew about the impact of high fuel costs on consumers and corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 34.93 at 11,807.43, after falling more than 100 points in earlier trading and later moving in and out of positive territory. The Dow dropped as low as 11,725.52 — beneath the level it sank to in March when Bear Stearns appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

Microsoft, one of the 30 Dow stocks, declined 24 cents to close at $27.73 a share. Boeing, also a Dow stock, fell 80 cents to $74.79.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 3.71 to 1,314.29, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 17.46 to 2,368.28.

The Conference Board said its June consumer confidence index came in at 50.4, far below economists' expectation of 56.5 and May's reading of 58.1.

The disappointing news arrived after shipper UPS warned late Monday that high oil prices are dampening its profits, and after a dismal reading on U.S. home prices.

Oil prices rose 26 cents to settle at $137.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, adding to investors' anxiety.

Wall Street's overriding concern is that expensive energy will prevent the economy from growing and aggravate inflation at the same time. Given the anemic economy — not to mention the additional debt losses expected at the nation's biggest banks — the Federal Reserve has little wiggle room to combat inflation with higher interest rates. Policymakers, whose rate-setting meeting began today and concludes Wednesday, are anticipated to hold their key federal funds target rate at 2 percent.