A late slump left stocks decisively lower on Wall Street Thursday, wrapping up the worst quarter for the market since the pandemic broke out two years ago.

Despite posting a gain in March, a dismal January and February left U.S. indexes lower for the year to date.

The S&P 500 ended the day 1.6% lower, bringing its loss since the beginning of the year to 4.9%.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil sank 7% after President Joe Biden ordered the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve.

Treasury yields fell.