U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Thursday after two sessions of steep declines brought by the surging price of oil.While oil futures broke through $135 per barrel for the first time overnight, stock futures pointed to a modest rebound. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 427 points, or 3.3 percent, over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, its steepest two-day loss since late February. It is down three of the past four sessions.
The spike in oil prices has fanned investors' uneasiness about inflation. One big fear is the consumers worried about rising prices for everything from gasoline to food will be less willing to reach into their wallet for other items. A pullback could deal a major blow to the economy as consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. And rising oil drives up costs of transportation and countless other expenses for businesses that aren't directly dependent on consumers.
Oil prices offered investors no relief Thursday. Light, sweet crude rose $1.21 to $134.38 a barrel in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier, oil topped $135.
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