Dow Dives 93.31; 8th Biggest Fall

Stocks tumbled today in heavy selling sparked by the Middle East turmoil and resulting oil price surge, which have intensified economic concerns.

The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials closed with a loss of 93.31 points, 3.32%, at 2,716.34, making it the eighth-largest point fall in history.

Earlier, it slid more than 100 points to 2,704.95 on heightened concern over the economic fallout from the explosion in crude oil prices.

Declining issues outnumbered advances by a wide margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with about 1,500 down. Full figures were not available yet.

Big Board volume totaled 240.40 million shares, against 292.36 million in the previous session.

The NYSE’s composite index skidded 5.50 to 183.32.

At the American Stock Exchange, the market value index lost 6.36, finishing at 340.27.

Investor confidence has been eroded by speculation that the struggling U.S. economy will slump into recession if it must weather a prolonged oil price spiral.

Recession fears were fanned Friday by a Labor Department report that the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% in July from June’s 5.2% level.

NYSE spokesman Richard Torrenzano told reporters the nation’s biggest stock market coped well during the volatile session.

“Circuit breakers” designed to cushion market declines were tripped by early activity in stocks and stock index futures. He said the mechanisms worked without a hitch and appear to have steadied the convulsive market.

In Washington, a Securities and Exchange Commission spokesman had no comment. A spokesman at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees trading in stock index futures, said the agency was monitoring the situation.

A few stocks, particularly oil and related issues, benefited from the situation. The contract for September delivery of the benchmark grade of U.S. crude oil jumped $3.56 to $28.05 per 42-gallon barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.