U.S. Stocks Fell Amid Oil Prices Worries

U.S. stocks fell, sending the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to its first weekly decline since July, as oil prices climbed and concern grew that the government may bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The steepest one-day drop in oil since December 2004 and speculation that Lehman Brothers will be taken over helped equity indexes pare losses Friday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lost more than a third of their value last week on concern that a rescue would wipe out shareholders. Ford, Coach and Darden Restaurants drove consumer stocks to their first decline in three weeks.

"The fear is that we really may be in a long, continuous financial crisis," said Stephen Lieber, co-chief executive officer of Alpine Woods Investments in Purchase, N.Y. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5 percent, to 1292.20, extending its loss for the year to 12 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3 percent, to 11,628.06. The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.5 percent, to 2414.71.