NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stocks nearly erased all of the gains achieved over Thursday as crude oil plunged below $46 a barrel, triggering a selloff in stocks of energy companies.

The S&P 500 was down 0.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1.1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.66%.

Oil prices were in the red on Friday after the International Energy Agency warned that a recovery remained fragile as production in the U.S. shows little signs of meaningfully slowing down. West Texas Intermediate crude plummeted 2.8% to $45.72 a barrel.

"Behind the facade of stability, the rebalancing triggered by the price collapse has yet to run its course, and it might be overly optimistic to expect it to proceed smoothly," the energy watchdog said in its monthly oil report.

Large-cap oilers Exxon Mobil (XOM) - Get Report, Chevron (CVX) - Get Report, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) and BP (BP) - Get Report declined, while Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) - Get Report tumbled 1.3%. 

Herbalife (HLF) - Get Report was up 12.5% on reports the FBI and Manhattan prosecutors will investigate potential stock manipulation, accord to TheWall Street Journal. The investigation will cover whether hedge fund investor Bill Ackman deliberately made false statements to lower the stock price.

Producer prices remained weak in February with prices down 0.5% on top of a 0.8% decline in January. Economists had expected an increase of 0.3%. Excluding volatile items such as food and energy, the index remained down 0.5%, compared to estimates of a 0.1% gain.

Consumer sentiment in March fell to its worst level since November, down to 91.2 from 95.4 in February, according to the University of Michigan's monthly index. Economists had expected a reading of 94.8. 

Teen retailer Aeropostale (ARO) plummeted 14.3% after guiding for a first-quarter net loss between 53 cents and 61 cents a share. Analysts had expected a net loss of 36 cents a share. The company beat fourth-quarter estimates on its top- and bottom-lines.

Ulta Salon (ULTA) - Get Report jumped more than 4%. The beauty supplies chain reported quarterly comparable-store sales up 11% with a 55% jump in e-commerce sales.

Ann (ANN) , owner of Ann Taylor and LOFT stores, climbed 7.5% after unexpectedly reporting earnings of 12 cents a share in its fourth quarter. Analysts had expected a loss of 3 cents a share.