And then it retreated.

With a 145-point slide on Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average flirted with bear market territory, meaning that it is down 20 percent from its high on Oct. 9, 2007.

But the Dow managed to avoid the bear market label by the end of the day. The index finished down 106.91 points, or 0.93 percent, at 11,346.51, falling 19.89 percent since its October high.

The broader stock market fared slightly better than the Dow, which is a weighted average of 30 major corporations. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, a broader measure of American stocks, was down 4.77 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,278.38.

The Nasdaq composite index, weighted with technology stocks, declined 5.74 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,315.63.

Another surge in the price of oil, which traded above $142 on Friday afternoon after gaining $5 a day earlier, discouraged investors and had helped nudge the Dow down 1.1 percent to 11,327 at 2 p.m. The blue-chip index was above 13,000 just five weeks ago.

Oil is fueling inflation fears, feeding into the Federal Reserve’s warning this week that prices could rise further in the months ahead. Crude traded at $140.21 a barrel, up 57 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The economy may feel some relief from the Bush administration’s stimulus package, which nudged up consumer spending last month more than expected. A government report released Friday showed that spending increased 0.4 percent when adjusted for inflation.

But inflation remains a problem. The same report measured inflation at 3.1 percent in May compared with a year prior, well above the Fed’s so-called “comfort zone.”

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