Stocks Ended Sharply Lower, Dow Dropped More Than 300 Points

U.S. stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, as fears of a slowdown in global growth and higher bond yields continued to dampen appetite for risk assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 327.23 points, or 1.27%, to 25,379.45. The S&P 500 shed 40.43 points, or 1.44%, to 2,768.78. The Nasdaq Composite slid 157.56 points, or 2.06%, to 7,485.14.

Oil futures fell sharply Thursday, as a fourth straight weekly climb in U.S. crude inventories helped ease concerns over tight global supplies, with the U.S. set to impose sanctions on Iranian oil next month. November West Texas intermediate crude fell $1.10, or 1.6%, to settle at $68.65 a barrel. tallying a two-session loss of more than 4%. That was also the lowest finish for a front-month contract since Sept. 13. December Brent crude declined 76 cents, or nearly 1%, to $79.29 a barrel.