Stocks Ended Lower On Fed, China Worries

U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, as weak China data and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting drove investors out of equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 45.26 points, or 0.25%, to 18,098.94. The S&P 500 shed 6.63 points, or 0.31%, to 2,132.55. The Nasdaq Composite fell 25.69 points, or 0.49%, to 5,213.33.

Oil futures settled higher Thursday in the wake of a U.S. government report that revealed the first weekly rise in crude supplies since the end of August. November West Texas Intermediate crude rose 26 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $50.44 a barrel. December Brent crude added 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $52.03 a barrel.

Goldman Sachs, one of the most storied investment banks on Wall Street, is getting into the consumer finance business with the launch of an online lending platform, Marcus.