U.S. stocks ended little-changed as oil slumps, ECB adds to stimulus

U.S. stocks came off session lows to close slightly lower Thursday as a rout in oil prices weighed on the main benchmarks. Investors largely shrugged off new easing measures from the European Central Bank, which exceeded the market's expectations and fueled an early-morning rally. The S&P 500 ended unchanged at 1,989, led by losses in industrials and tech. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 6 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,994, led by a 2% drop in shares of E.I du Pont de Nemours and Company . Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite closed down 12 points, or 0.3% at 4,662.

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