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Stocks briefly add losses on energy drag

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks briefly added to losses on Thursday, sending benchmark indexes close to session lows as a continued drop in oil prices pushed down shares of energy companies, including Exxon Mobil .

    Highlights:

    * Indexes fall more than 1 percent; U.S. front-month crude drops $2.25, or nearly 5 percent, to $44.53 a barrel.

    * The energy sector drag offsets optimism from solid sales at Wal-Mart Stores Inc and hopes for cheaper gasoline for consumers during the holiday shopping season.

    * A disappointing profit warning from drugmaker Merck -- traditionally thought to be able to withstand tough economic times -- raises concerns that the economic slump is reverberating more broadly and worsening.

    Exxon Mobil shares dropped 2.4 percent to $77.03, making the stock the second-top drag on the Dow, behind Chevron , which was off 2.5 percent at $72.84.

    (Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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