Stocks sink and oil gains on report of Saudi unrest

Reports that Saudi police opened fire on protesters Thursday have heightened fears that instability and violence in the Middle East and North Africa would drive oil prices even higher and choke off the global economic recovery

"Saudi Arabia is the main supplier of oil around the world, so people are concerned," said Axel Merk, president and chief investment officer of Merk Investments in Palo Alto, California.

"People are starting to realize that the turmoil in the Middle East is going to affect oil supplies for a long, long time," he added.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/10/us-markets-global-idUSTRE71H0EB20110310