Tumbling demand for commodities and a drop in the euro led to a broad stock sell-off Wednesday that pulled the Dow Jones industrial average down 130 points.

Demand for gasoline in the U.S. fell by the largest amount in seven weeks, the Energy Information Administration said, a signal that consumers are conserving money as gas prices near a national average of $4 a gallon. Gas futures fell almost 8 percent. Crude oil fell back below $100 a barrel, a loss of more than 4 percent.

Fewer fill-ups may be an early sign of a broader drop in consumer and business spending as customers forgo trips to malls and restaurants and companies ship fewer products. That, in turn, could lead to lower corporate earnings and halt a stock rally that has sent the stock market up 7 percent this year.

“People are becoming more conservative in their outlook and their spending as oil prices have risen, and that’s making the market become more concerned about growth,” said Quincy Krosby, the chief strategist at Prudential Financial.

The fall in demand for gas means that traders will take a close look at Thursday’s weekly report on first-time applications for unemployment benefits. If they rise, that could indicate companies are cutting back in other areas as well, Krosby said. Stocks rose broadly on Friday after a report that companies added more than 200,000 jobs in April.

Stocks fell broadly, with energy and materials companies suffering the worst declines. The Dow lost 1 percent to close at 12,630.03. The S&P 500 fell 15.08, or 1.1 percent, to 1,342.08. The Nasdaq composite lost 26.83, or 0.9 percent, to 2,845.06.

The market’s broad sell-off, which sent all 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 index lower, is a sign that the economic recovery still seems uncertain at times. Strong earnings have been carrying the market higher since the beginning of 2011. On Tuesday the S&P 500 climbed for the third straight day to within 0.5 percent of its highest close for the year.

“Every time that stocks start to go down a little bit, you’re seeing more selling pile on because people have made so much profit over the past 9 months,” said Uri Landesman, president of Platinum Partners, a New York-based hedge fund.

The market’s losses accelerated shortly before noon Wednesday. The dollar and government bond prices rose as traders moved money into safer assets. The dollar rose 0.8 percent against a group of other major currencies. The euro dropped 1.5 percent against the dollar.