Stocks finish moderately lower; oil crosses $110 as dollar sinks

S&P: -11.9 Dow: -46 Nas: -11.9

The major indexes drifted lower throughout the afternoon after beginning the day in positive territory. Spot oil prices shrugged off weekly EIA data that showed a bigger-than-expected build in crude stockpiles and hit another new high over $110/barrel. A decline in the dollar is singled out as the culprit, with the exchange rate breaking through $1.55/euro. Considering the magnitude of yesterday's market gains, today's showing was not too bad.