U.S. stocks closed slightly lower on Thursday as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings and economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 75.05 points, or 0.30 percent, to 24,811.76. The S&P 500 fell 5.53 points, or 0.20 percent, to 2,727.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 1.53 points, or 0.02 percent, to 7,424.43.

On corporate earnings, Best Buy reported adjusted earnings of 82 cents per share on Thursday, beating industry analysts' expectations of 75 cents apiece.

Following the release of the encouraging quarterly earnings report, shares of the U.S. electronics retailer, however, tumbled 6.65 percent at market closing.

Shares of the food producer Hormel fell more than 1 percent in late trading after it reported quarterly earnings of 44 cents per share, slightly shy of forecasts.

On the economic front, the Labor Department reported on Thursday that in the week ending May 19, initial jobless claims in the United States rose 11,000 from the previous week to a seasonally adjusted 234,000, higher than the market consensus of 220,000.

Meanwhile, the U.S. existing-home sales retreated in April on both a monthly and annualized basis, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday.

Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, decreased 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million in April from 5.60 million in March, lower than market expectations.