NEW YORK: Escalating oil prices and the crisis in the Middle East caused stocks to plummet for a third straight session Friday July 14, accompanied by weak earnings at General Electric Co. and feeble consumer data that further depressed the economic outlook.

Crude eventually settled at $77.03 a barrel, up 33 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow dropped 106.94, or 0.99%, to 10,739.35. The blue-chip index tumbled more than 121 points Wednesday and lost almost 167 points Thursday, and is barely 21 points from turning negative for 2006.

Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index tumbled 6.09, or 0.49%, to 1,236.20; the NASDAQ composite index fell 16.76, or 0.82%, to 2,037.35, a 14-month low.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 2 to 1 on the NYSE. The U.S. dollar gained on the Japanese yen and was flat versus European currencies. Gold prices advanced, climbing to $650 an ounce.

The Dow Jones industrials ended the week down 351.52, or 3.17%, to end at 10,739.35. The S&P 500 index lost 29.28, or 2.31%, finishing at 1,236.20. The NASDAQ dropped 92.71, or 4.35 percent, to close at 2,037.35.