Stocks Tumbled as Oil Prices Rallied

U.S. stocks declined on Thursday as a spike in oil prices and softer-than-expected economic data dented sentiment on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 109.69 points, or 0.65%, to 16,734.19. The S&P 500 closed 13.78 points, or 0.71%, to 1,930.12. The Nasdaq Composite was down 34.30 points, or 0.79%, to 4,297.63.

British finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday that he would give the Bank of England stronger powers to curb mortgage lending and reduce the risks that the housing market poses to financial stability.

Stanley Fischer, the former head of the Bank of Israel, won approval from the U.S. Senate on Thursday to serve as vice chairman at the Federal Reserve, a role that gives him a powerful perch to help shape U.S. monetary policy.

Tesla Motors on Thursday said it will allow others to use its intellectual property in hopes of speeding up development of electric cars by all manufacturers.