Stocks, oil fall as volatility hits Wall Street

By DAMIAN J. TROISE
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in afternoon trading Wednesday as Wall Street underwent a bout of volatility, driven in part by big swings in technology companies. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%. The benchmark index has risen or fallen by more than 1% the past four days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.7% and the Nasdaq fell 0.4%. International markets also sold off, with exchanges in Japan, South Korea, Germany and France all dropping more than 1%. Energy prices are retreating after a strong rally that contributed to renewed inflation fears among investors. U.S. oil fell 2% and natural gas plunged 9.3%