US STOCKS-Market falls on record oil price
(Updates to midday, adds byline)
* U.S. stocks drop on record oil price
* Consumer confidence falls to lowest in 28 years
* Energy stocks rise sharply
By Cal Mankowski
NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday after the price of oil hit a record and consumer sentiment data came in surprisingly weak, reviving concerns over spending.
The unease about the state of the consumer outweighed earlier optimism following a surprise rise in U.S. housing starts and stronger-than-expected earnings from retailers Nordstrom (JWN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to its lowest in 28 years this month, according to the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, as short-term inflation expectations hit their highest since the stagflation era of the early 1980s.
The price of oil CLC1 shot to a record high near $128 a barrel after Goldman Sachs (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the most active investment bank in energy markets, sharply raised its price forecast for the second half of 2008. Continued...
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