US stocks close lower amid declining oil prices

New York, Nov 16 : US stocks ended lower as the market sentiment was dented by dropping oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday lost 138.19 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 23,271.28, Xinhua news agency reported.

The S&P 500 erased 14.25 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,564.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 31.66 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 6,706.21.

US and Brent oil prices dropped 0.66 and 0.55 per cent respectively on Wednesday after the International Energy Agency cut its outlook for oil demand growth by 100,000 barrels per day for 2017 and 2018.

In corporate news, the Dow-component GE retreated slightly on Wednesday after slumping more than 12 per cent in the previous two sessions, amid investors' worries about the company's newly-announced massive restructuring plan.

On the US economic front, the Labor Department said on Wednesday its Consumer Price Index (CPI) edged up 0.1 per cent last month after jumping 0.5 per cent in September.

Meanwhile, the year-on-year increase in the CPI went down to 2.0 per cent from 2.2 per cent in September. The latest readings were in line with market expectations.