Stocks Closed Sharply Lower, Pressured by Greece Worries

U.S. stocks finished with sizable losses on Thursday weighed down in part by an impasse between Greece and its creditors and U.S. economic reports that helped make an interest-rate hike this year look more likely. The Dow Jones industrial average slid 170.69 points, or 0.94%, to 17,905.58. The S&P lost 18.23 points, or 0.86%, to 2,095.84. The Nasdaq composite lost 40.11 points, or 0.79%, to 5,059.12.

Greece has notified the International Monetary Fund it plans to bundle its loan repayments falling due this month into one payment of around $1.7 billion, according to the IMF and Greek officials.

Fewer Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. The Labor Department says applications for unemployment aid dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000. The four-week average, a less volatile figure, ticked up 2,750 to 274,750.

U.S. productivity in the first quarter fell by a revised 3.1% annual pace instead of 1.9%, fresh government figures show.

PepsiCo is looking to launch a line of “craft” fountain sodas made with sugar in hopes of appealing to people who may shun big soda brands.