Stocks fell sharply on an otherwise quiet Monday as jitters about the mortgage industry prevailed in low-volume trading, sending shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to 17-year lows.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 180 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost 1.5 percent, as shares of banks and financial services firms took a sharp hit.

The biggest losers were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the beleaguered mortgage giants, which have suffered from widespread concern over their ability to raise capital and continue to guarantee most of the nation’s mortgages.

That catchy slogan, dreamed up by the Fallon Worldwide advertising agency, was pitched in 1999 to executives at Citicorp who were looking for a way to lure Americans to financial products like home equity loans. But some in the room did not like it. They worried the phrase would encourage people to live exorbitantly, says Stephen A. Cone, a top Citi marketer at the time.

Asian stocks fell, led by financial companies, after condominium builder Urban Corp. filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch & Co. said the credit crisis isn't over. Commodity producers gained after oil and metal prices rose.

Crude oil fell to $118 a barrel on speculation Tropical Storm Edouard won't damage U.S. Gulf facilities and as concern economic growth will slow prompted investors to sell commodities.

Oil dropped to its lowest since May 5 as Edouard's sub- hurricane wind speeds eased concern that offshore and platforms would be damaged by the storm. Gold, platinum and wheat declined on speculation slower growth will curb demand and as a stronger dollar limited the appeal of commodities as an inflation hedge.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are returning to favor among bond investors even as stockholders lose confidence after the Treasury threw its support behind the biggest U.S. mortgage-finance companies.

Half an hour was all it took for a dreary day on Wall Street to turn dire.

Widespread fear about the health of the mortgage industry took hold Wednesday afternoon, and investors could not shake the jitters. The Dow Jones industrial average, already swimming deep in negative territory, dived 75 points in the final 30 minutes of trading and finished down 2.1 percent at its lowest close of the year.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, seeking to allay renewed concerns over the health of the nation's financial system, said the central bank may extend its emergency-loan program for investment banks into next year.

``The Federal Reserve is strongly committed'' to financial stability and is ``considering several options, including extending the duration of our facilities for primary dealers beyond year-end,'' Bernanke said in a speech to a conference in Arlington, Virginia.

Oil steadied above $145 a barrel on Friday as the United States heads into the Independence Day long weekend, pausing after the previous day's rally to a record near $146.

U.S. crude oil rose 13 cents to $145.42 a barrel by 0143 GMT, off an all-time high of $145.85 hit on Thursday. The contract has risen more than 50 percent this year.

London Brent gained 22 cents to $146.30, near the record $146.69 touched a day ago.

A sharp increase in oil prices on Wednesday sent shudders through anxious financial markets already worried about the prospect of a global economic slowdown.

Crude oil climbed above $144 a barrel before settling at $143.57, up $2.60 for the day. The Energy Department reported an unexpected decline in inventories, sending oil prices to a record. And now oil slowly is closing in on $150 a barrel, the next psychological milestone to be crossed.

Crude oil rose for a second day in New York to more than $142 a barrel after the International Energy Agency said supplies may not keep up with demand through 2013.

The IEA said in a report that spare OPEC capacity will shrink by 2013, keeping the market ``tight.'' The growth in global excess supply will peak at about 2.5 million barrels a day in 2010, dropping to less than a million a day for the next three years, the agency said.