NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks extended losses on Wednesday, sending the Nasdaq down 1 percent, as shares of technology companies, big manufacturers and retailers sold off on fears that surging oil prices will stunt consumer and business spending.
* U.S. front-month crude topped $71 a barrel earlier Wednesday.
* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 20.18 points, or 0.23 percent, to 8,742.88. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 3.77 points, or 0.40 percent, to 938.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 17.45 points, or 0.94 percent, to 1,842.68.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
