U.S. stocks end lower on oil slide

U.S. stocks pared part of early losses to close mildly lower Thursday, as a decline in oil prices dampened investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 19.86 points, or 0.11 percent, to 17,985.19. The S&P 500 shed 3.64 points, or 0.17 percent, to 2,115.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 16.03 points, or 0.32 percent, to 4,958.62.

Oil prices snapped a three-day winning streak to end lower Thursday as traders were looking for excuses to lock in profits.

The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery fell 67 cents to settle at 50.56 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery lost 56 cents to close at 51.95 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

On the economic front, in the week ending June 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 264,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 269,000, a decrease of 7,5000 from the previous week's revised average.

The U.S. dollar increased against most major currencies on Thursday as jobs data from the country came out better than expected.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.41 percent at 93.977 in late trading.

U.S. stocks ended higher after wavering in a tight range Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average above the psychologically key 18,000 level for the first time since April. Endit