The upbeat undertone on the economic front was clouded by the Chinese moves as a rise in the housing starts failed to lend support. Stocks sank by substantial margins with the Dow shedding 165.07 points or 1.5% to close at 10,978.62.
The crude markets had started mixed but then witnessed a sell off as China hiked its one-year benchmark deposit rate to 2.50% from 2.25 %and the one-year lending rate to 5.56% from 5.31 percent. The move marked the first rate change for the world's second largest economy since December of 2007.
Crude dipped following this as all the commodities including Gold fell. The prices broke under the $82 per barrel mark in Europe and ended under $80 per barrel in New York. Crude oil for November delivery closed down by $3.59 to $79.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was also oil's first time settling under $80 a barrel in October and at its lowest price since Sept. 29.
Data out earlier in the week showed that the US industrial production slipped in September following slide in manufacturing activity, according to figures released by the Federal Reserve. The output of the industrial sector of the economy decreased 0.2% in September after having increased 0.2% in August. This represents the first monthly decline in industrial production since mid-2009.
The Fed's index for manufacturing decelerated sharply in the third quarter. After having jumped at an annual rate of 9.1% in the second quarter, factory output gained 3.6% in the third quarter.
MCX Crude oil futures closed down Rs 75 at Rs 3655 per barrel for the November futures, which turned the benchmark amid hectic activity ahead of the expiry of the near month series.