US stocks: Dow, S&P slip as investors eye Mideast talks, earnings

Major stock indexes closed lower on Thursday, pausing after a strong start to the week. Investors digested corporate earnings and looked for progress toward a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. Oil prices rose, with U.S. crude settling up 2.75% at $77.29 a barrel. Data storage companies Western Digital and Sandisk saw significant drops after their quarterly results. The number of Americans filing unemployment claims increased slightly last week.