* Travelers biggest drag on Dow after results
* Jobless claims unexpectedly fall last week
* Dow down 0.11 pct, S&P down 0.05 pct, Nasdaq up 0.26 pct (Adds details, changes comment, updates prices)
By Abhiram Nandakumar
April 21 (Reuters) - Wall Street was flat on Thursday after a raft of mixed quarterly earnings and a slide in oil prices kept investors on the sidelines.
Crude fell nearly 2 percent, but hovered near five-month highs after the International Energy Agency said 2016 would see the biggest fall in non-OPEC production in 25 years. O/R
A recent recovery in oil and encouraging corporate results have helped push the S&P 500 to within striking distance of its peak of 2,134.72.
However, expectations for first-quarter earnings are dismally low, with S&P 500 companies expected to post a 7.2 percent fall in profit on average, and a 1.4 percent decline in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"The market has a singular focus to retake the old highs set back in May last year," said Sam Stovall, U.S. equity strategist at S&P Global Market Intelligence in New York.
"Right now, it's probably just taking a little breather because it has come so far so fast, but I still see the market moving up and attempting to get back to breakeven."
At 11:07 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 19.25 points, or 0.11 percent, at 18,077.02, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 1.05 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,101.35 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was up 13.01 points, or 0.26 percent, at 4,961.14.
Six of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher. Healthcare .SPXHC rose 0.65 percent, while Verizon pulled telecom .SPLRCL down 1.9 percent.
Verizon's shares VZ.N fell 3.1 percent to $50.13 after its profit met expectations and the company said a strike by its wireline workers was expected to hurt earnings this quarter. growth remains a key influence. American Express (NYSE:AXP) AXP.N shares were up 1.1 percent after revenue rose for the first time in five quarters and Yum Brands YUM.N up 1.2 percent, while Mattel MAT.O sank 5.5 percent after sales fell.
Under Armor UA.N rose 8.1 percent to $47.49, while General Motors (NYSE:GM) GM.N rose 1.9 percent to $32.80 after they joined a raft of companies that reported better-than-expected profits.
Travelers TRV.N fell 3.8 percent to $111.37 after the property and casualty insurer reported a 17 percent fall in profit. The stock was the biggest drag on the Dow. issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,618 to 1,224. On the Nasdaq, 1,484 issues rose and 1,109 fell.
The S&P 500 index showed 10 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 37 new highs and nine lows.