The S&P 500 index has slipped 1.6 percent from last Friday's record high, while U.S. crude oil prices, at $60.49 a barrel, have plunged 8 percent.
"So stocks have been weak, and oil has been weaker," writes
New York Post columnist John Crudele.
"But oil isn't causing the drop in stocks. Instead, both of these markets are declining on the same news: the world economy is weak."
Japan's economy shrank 1.9 percent annualized in the third quarter, while Europe's GDP climbed only 0.6 percent during the period.
Oil's descent is generally positive for economies and companies, Crudele notes. "Except for energy companies, the nations that profit from high oil prices and the traders who bet on them, everyone else benefits from cheaper fuel," he writes.
The stocks of some energy companies, such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are falling, Crudele acknowledges.
"But those few companies are insignificant to all the other companies that will benefit and all the stocks that will eventually rise because of those benefits."
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew also sees the oil price drop as a boon for the economy.
"Short-term we're seeing a U.S. economy that's growing with increasing strength, and lower energy prices are going to be a boost to consumer demand and confidence," Lew said at a conference in New York,
CNBC reports.
He said the oil price descent acts "like a tax cut to the economy."
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