DOW OFF 100 IN LATE SELLING, OIL FALLS TO $40

Stocks faded in late-day trading even as crude oil dropped below $40 for the first time in more than four years. The Dow Jones industrials, which had been down as much as 146 points, were down 100 points, or 1.1% to 8,824. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 9 points, or 1%, to 904, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 11 points, 0.7%, to 1,579.

Crude closed at $40.06, down 8.1% on the day as oil traders concluded a production cut from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would do little to boost prices. Crude has fallen nearly 73% since last summer.

In fact, there was talk crude could fall to $30 a barrel, which would mean lower gasoline prices for consumers. Gasoline averaged $1.667 a gallon today, up slightly from Tuesday, but down 59.5% from its July 17 peak of $4.114 a gallon, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.

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