US stocks drop on worries over oil, dollar

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks Friday ended lower on renewed anxiety over falling oil prices and the rising US dollar.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,742.01, down 143.21 points (0.80 per cent).

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 12.58 (0.61 per cent) to 2,053.37, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 21.33 (0.49 per cent) to 4,871.76.

US oil prices finished the week below US$45 a barrel after the International Energy Agency warned that rising US crude inventories were approaching the limits of storage capacity amid the global oversupply.

The euro got as low as US$1.0466, its lowest level since January 2003.

Investors fear the strong dollar will harm US exports and emerging market economies, analysts said.

"Basically, you see a reversal of the gains we made yesterday, and you see a market that has entered a period of uncertainty as we head into the Federal Reserve meeting next week," said David Levy, portfolio manager at Kenjol Capital Management.

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