New York ? Another surge in oil prices sent stocks plummeting Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average shedding more than 160 points and the Nasdaq composite index and Standard & Poor’s 500 recording new lows for the year.

Investors reacted strongly to the oil hike, selling off rapidly as the afternoon progressed. A barrel of light crude closed at a record-high $44.41, up $1.58.

During the past few weeks, drops in stock prices have corresponded almost directly to rising oil prices, which have climbed on terrorism fears. Thursday’s rise, attributed to Russian oil conglomerate Yukos’ ongoing troubles, prompted heavy selling in the last hour of trading.

The Dow fell 163.48, or 1.6 percent, to 9,963.03, closing below the 10,000 mark for the third time in the last 10 sessions. It was the blue chips’ second-largest slide of 2004; it lost 168 points on March 11.

Broader stock indicators also fell sharply.

The S&P 500 index dropped 17.93, or 1.6 percent, to 1,080.70, and the Nasdaq was down 33.43, or 1.8 percent, at 1,821.63. It was the lowest close for the Nasdaq since Sept. 30, and the lowest for the S&P 500 since Dec. 17.

Selling was widespread, with industrial and materials stocks the worst losers, followed closely by health care and discretionary consumer stocks.

“We’ve had some good economic numbers, but with the high price of oil and the terror alert, there’s a lot of pressure on the market on a short-term basis,” said Joseph Battipaglia, chief investment officer at Ryan Beck & Co. “These oil prices will eat away at consumer confidence, consumer spending and start to affect business decision making.”