US stocks closes lower as crude, bank stocks fall

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – Wall Street closed lower Thursday with falling crude oil prices and stocks at American banks.

Crude oil inventory in the U.S. increased 0.6 million barrels for the week ending Dec. 23, according to the Energy Information Administration. The market expectation was a decline of 2 million barrels.

With the unexpected rise, oil prices took a slight dive.

At the final bell, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate was trading at $53.77 -- a 0.4 percent loss. International benchmark Brent crude shaved 0.1 percent to $56.81.

Bank of America and Citigroup also saw their shares decrease by 1.6 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

The Dow fell 13 points to end the day 19,819 and the S&P was flat at 2,249. The Nasdaq decreased six points to finish at 5,432.