Wall Street falls more than 1 percent as crude extends losses

Volatile oil prices have influenced the direction of stocks, pushing the S&P 500 down about 5 percent this year. Stock market rallies have been few and short-lived, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average having risen for three days in a row only once in the past two months. The steep fall in oil prices is starting to hurt other sectors, with banks bracing for a wave of potential defaults from energy companies.