Energy Stocks Lead Dow Lower

Stocks are moving significantly lower today as fiscal cliff negotiations heat up again. The president and Congress are back at the negotiating table and the rumor is that a small deal is on the table today. Growing fear that we'll go over the cliff has the Dow Jones Industrial Average moving 0.73% lower today and the S&P 500 has lost 0.64% of its value.

While the fiscal cliff is dragging the whole market lower, there is some specific news impacting some stocks. Hewlett-Packard has fallen 2.4% today after the Justice Department said it was looking into the company's Autonomy unit. It's never good when the government begins looking at your company and the stock is selling off as a result.

Big oil isn't far behind HP, with Chevron falling 1.5% and ExxonMobil dropping 1.6% today. Investors are worried that a new EPA administrator may be harder on the oil industry than Lisa Jackson, who just resigned from the agency. There's also worry that big oil may be a target for fiscal cliff negotiations that need to raise revenue. A week ago, I highlighted a few loopholes that may be targets during fiscal cliff negotiations that would affect these companies going forward.

It's becoming more and more likely that we'll go over the fiscal cliff, and the market will likely continue a slow decline if we do. If that's the case, it provides a great opportunity for the long-term Foolish investor.

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The article Energy Stocks Lead Dow Lower originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw. The Motley Fool owns shares of ExxonMobil. Motley Fool newsletter services recommend Chevron. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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