The Dow Closes Below 10,000

Updated from 4:02 p.m. EDT

Although Monday's spike in crude fell short of $50 a barrel, the rally was enough to send the Dow below 10,000 for the first time in five weeks.

The Dow lost 58.70 points, or 0.58%, to 9988.54, its first close below 10,000 since Aug. 17. The slide in blue chips followed their worst weekly performance since early August. The S&P 500 declined 6.59 points, or 0.59%, to 1103.52, while the Nasdaq shed 19.60 points, or 1.04%, to 1859.88.

Volume was relatively light at the New York Stock Exchange where less than 1.3 billion shares changed hands and decliners beat advancers 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 1.3 billion shares traded, with decliners ahead of advancers by 7 to 3.

In other markets, the 10-year Treasury note rose 10/32 to yield 3.99%, having moved below the key level last week for the first time in almost six months. The dollar rose against the yen and fell against the euro. Gold was higher.

Oil ended at a new record high but off the session's peak, as civil unrest in Nigeria led to production stoppages and added to short-term supply worries. Nymex crude for November delivery gained 76 cents to $49.64. It traded as high $49.74. Prices also closed at record high Friday.

Ken Tower, chief market strategist at CyberTrader, sees "business confidence undermined by the escalating costs of energy."

"This is a time of very tight margins a lot of cost-cutting," said Tower. "The labor markets have not rebounded as expected, so it's a very tough market to pass along higher energy costs to the consumer," said Tower, adding that the yield on the 10-year treasury bond, falling under 4%, suggests that the bond market agrees with that assessment.

Surging oil prices in the last two weeks, much like during the first three weeks of August when the benchmark U.S. crude rose almost 20% and stocks wilted, have become a major factor in market sentiment.