Crude oil futures continued a record-setting trend today, with prices reaching $54.90 per barrel in intraday trading. While crude inventories rose more than expected, a government report shows reserves of distillates such as heating oil dropped substantially. A barrel of light crude for November delivery closed at a record $54.76, up $1.12, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

"The biggest thing that would help the markets right now would be a sustained drop in crude oil, but I'm not holding my breath for that," said Lincoln Anderson, chief investment officer for LPL Financial Services in Boston. "It's drawing attention away from third-quarter numbers that, despite GM, are really pretty good."

With GM missing its earnings forecasts by a wide margin and lowering its full-year outlook, Wall Street feared that the slower economy and soaring energy prices could lead other major companies into similar problems.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 107.88 to 9,894.45, its lowest close since Aug. 13. The Dow closed below 10,000 for the first time since Sept. 27.

Broader stock indicators were substantially lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 10.36, or 0.93 percent, at 1,103.29, and the Nasdaq composite index dropped 17.51, or 0.91 percent, to 1,903.02.

GM's earnings weighed heavily on automakers and auto parts manufacturer stocks, while an investigation by New York's attorney general into improprieties in a number of insurance companies pressured the financial sector. Only the energy sector managed any meaningful gains, thanks to the continued rise in oil prices.

A raft of disappointing economic figures also weighed on the market. According to the Commerce Department, the nation's trade deficit climbed to $54 billion in August, the second-highest level in history and 6.9 percent higher than July. Furthermore, a weak dollar overseas contributed to a 2.9 percent increase in the price of imported goods in September.

The Labor Department reported a larger-than-expected increase in first-time jobless claims last week, with claims rising 15,000 to 352,000. The four-week moving average of claims, seen as a more reliable indicator of unemployment, rose to a seven-month high of 352,000.