NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street appeared headed for a sluggish start to the third quarter Tuesday, hurt by ongoing concerns about the damage rising oil prices will do to the economy.Crude oil held above $142 a barrel in premarket trading after briefly soaring to a record high of $143.67 on Monday amid concerns about tensions in the Middle East and a weakening dollar.
The concern on Wall Street is that higher energy prices will hurt consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy. That has put even more weight on economic reports set to be released in coming weeks.
Higher oil prices have also cut into manufacturing as businesses are forced to spend more money to make and transport goods. A measure of the U.S. manufacturing sector released at 10 a.m. Eastern time is expected to show contraction for the fifth straight month during June as businesses struggle with inflation and nervous consumers.
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