Most US stocks fell back yesterday, poised for a fourth consecutive weekly drop as oil prices moved higher and weighed on consumer-facing companies while poor earnings reports dragged down the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been hit particularly hard in recent weeks and, on Thursday fell to its lowest level since September 2006 and is now on course for its worst monthly performance, down 9.9 per cent, since September 2002 - and its worst June since the Depression.