NEW YORK - US stocks closed sharply lower on Thursday, weighed down by a sharp rise in oil prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1.56 percent to 46,677.85. The S&P 500 dropped 1.52 percent to 6,672.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.78 percent to 22,311.98.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, led by industrials and consumer discretionary with declines of 2.52 percent and 2.21 percent, respectively. Energy and utilities were the only notable gainers, rising 0.98 percent and 0.73 percent, respectively.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures for April delivery, the US oil benchmark, surged 9.72 percent to settle at $95.73 per barrel. The rally was fueled by comments from Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who stated that the closure of the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz would continue "as a tool to pressure the enemy."

To help mitigate rising energy costs, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced Wednesday that the United States will release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The release is expected to take approximately 120 days to complete.

Honda Motor fell more than 5 percent after the Japanese automaker warned it expects expenses and losses related to its reassessed electric vehicle strategy to reach as much as 2.5 trillion yen (about $15.75 billion), and revised its fiscal-year outlook to a net loss instead of a profit.

In post-earnings trading, Petco Health & Wellness soared nearly 35 percent and Dollar General declined 6.14 percent. Adobe, scheduled to report results after the market close, fell 1.43 percent.