Stocks edge lower after opening bell; oil slides

Stocks edged slightly lower after the opening bell Thursday, as investors prepared to put a cap on a volatile quarter that saw the Nasdaq Composite fall into a bear market, while the S&P 500 fell into correction and then exited earlier this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 96 points, or 0.3%, to 35,133, while the S&P 500 was down 7 points, or 0.2%, at 4,596, and the Nasdaq declined 0.2% to 14,406. Oil futures fell sharply but were off session lows. News reports said President Joe Biden was prepared to announce the release of up to 1 million barrels a day of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

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