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Stocks fell on Thursday as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke backed off hints additional near-term stimulus could be on the way, removing a possible catalyst from a market already facing plenty of obstacles.

Oil in New York fell, reaching a record discount to Brent crude, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the Fed isn’t planning more bond-buying to stimulate economic growth.

Futures dropped 2.4 percent after Bernanke told Congress that the central bank would be cautious about initiating a third round of quantitative easing because of higher inflation this year. Oil climbed as much as 0.8 percent earlier when the Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits decreased 22,000 to 405,000 last week.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-14/oil-rises-in-new-york-after-u-s-jobless-claims-decline-more-than-forecast.html