U.S. stocks end lower amid falling oil

U.S. stocks slide Thursday as a sharp decline in oil prices weighed on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40.27 points, or 0.22 percent, to 18,162.35. The S&P 500 lost 2.95 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,141.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 4.58 points, or 0.09 percent, to 5,241.83.

Oil prices tumbled Thursday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude dropping over 2 percent, as investors became cautious after recent solid gains.

In corporate news, shares of Verizon fell 2.46 percent to 49.14 U.S. dollars apiece after the company delivered quarterly earnings above estimates but revenues shy of forecast.

On the economic front, in the week ending Oct. 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 260,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level, announced the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 251,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average.

Overseas, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided Thursday neither to change its key interests for the euro area, nor to extend its monthly asset purchase program of 80 billion euros (about 88 billion U.S. dollars) beyond March 2017.

European equities rallied Thursday after the ECB decision. German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange rose 0.52 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index went up 0.07 percent.

In Asia, Chinese stocks barely moved Thursday as the market digested the implications of a slew of new economic data released this week. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.01 percent to 3,084.46 points. Enditem