U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as the latest string of weak economic data overshadowed better-than-expected corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 68.65 points, or 0.53 percent, at 12,964.10. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 8.22 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,376.92. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 23.89 points, or 0.79 percent, to 3,007.56.

Apple was still the bellwether for the broader market on Thursday. Its shares tumbled more than 3 percent, making the tech- heavy Nasdaq the worst performer among major indexes.

Thursday's decline came after the Labor Department said that the number of people applying for jobless benefits decreased 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000.

Investors felt disappointed about the report not only because they were expecting a much bigger decrease, but also the slight improvement came because the previous week's number was revised higher than originally reported.

Initial claims are always considered a key measure of the strength of the job market. Thursday's report threw cold water on the market as investors were hoping the recent slowdown in hiring was something seasonal and temporary after the government reported the economy only added 120,000 jobs in March.

Adding to the pressure, sales of previously owned U.S. homes in March unexpectedly fell for the third time in the last four months.

According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of existing homes fell 2.6 percent compared with a month earlier to an annualized rate of 4.48 million homes, showing the housing market was still struggling.

On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley reported a first-quarter loss of 94 million dollars on Thursday, but still beat Wall Street estimates on stronger-than-expected trading revenue.

Meanwhile, Bank of America released lower earnings for the first quarter, but the results also stronger than expected.

In other markets, the U.S. dollar continued its upside trend and rose against its major counterparts in late New York trading, pushing down dollar-priced commodities like crude oil.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery slipped 40 cents, or 0.39 percent to settle at 102.27 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude for May delivery traded flat and last traded around 118 dollars a barrel.