US stock indexes edge lower in afternoon trading; oil slides

A slide in telecom services, consumer staples and utilities companies weighed on the market.

Many have come in ahead of Wall Street's expectations, but those forecasts were low to begin with, said JJ Kinahan, TD Ameritrade's chief strategist.

Mattel fell 5.8 percent after the toy maker reported a larger-than-anticipated quarterly loss and disappointing sales of Barbie dolls.

Alliance Data Systems, which manages loyalty and rewards programs for retailers and other companies, slumped 7 percent after the company issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter.

Casino operator Las Vegas Sands sank 8.8 percent after the company's latest quarterly results fell short of Wall Street's expectations.

United Continental tumbled 9.5 percent a day after the airline operator reported a steep drop in quarterly earnings as higher taxes offset some of the gains from cheaper jet fuel.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell $1, or 2.3 percent, to close at $43.18 a barrel in New York after.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose about a penny to close at $1.52 a gallon.

Natural gas was little changed at $2.07 per 1,000 cubic feet.