Stocks Ended Sharply Lower as COVID-19 Cases Hit Record High

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday, as COVID-19 cases hit record high in the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 317.46 points, or 1.08%, to 29,080.17. The S&P 500 was down 35.65 points, or 1.00%, to 3,537.01. The Nasdaq Composite declined 76.84 points, or 0.65%, to 11,709.59.

Oil futures settled with a loss on Thursday, pressured by an unexpected weekly climb in U.S. crude inventories and lower demand expectations on the back of ongoing COVID-19 concerns. December West Texas Intermediate crude fell 33 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $41.12 a barrel. January Brent crude added 25 cents, or 0.6%, at $44.05 a barrel.

The virus situation worsened in the U.S., with new COVID-19 cases hitting a record more than 152,000 on Wednesday alone, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg.