US equity indexes rose as President Donald Trump appeared open to giving Iran time to review Washington's latest proposal to agree on a framework for a peace deal.
The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 26,390.2, with the S&P 500 up 0.4% to 7,462.7 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.6% to 50,324.7 in Thursday's midday trading. All three indexes traded lower earlier in the session.
All sectors, except energy, consumer staples, and real estate, rose. Consumer discretionary led the gainers.
Iran on Thursday said it is reviewing the Trump administration's latest proposal to end the war after the US president said he was prepared to wait a few more days to "get the right answers" from Tehran, CNBC reported. Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the Islamic Republic had received the views of the American side and is "reviewing" it, CNBC cited the state-run agency Nour News.
Meanwhile, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered enriched uranium to remain in the Islamic Republic, Reuters reported Thursday, citing two senior sources from the country. However, Tehran will "downblend" the nuclear material itself, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera.
Iran is also discussing with Oman ways to set up a permanent toll system to formalize its control of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported. "Iran and Oman must mobilize all their resources both to provide security services and to manage navigation, in the most appropriate manner," the Iranian ambassador to France, Mohammad Amin-Nejad, said in an interview with Bloomberg in Paris on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 2.1% to $100.34, and Brent crude futures climbed 1.4% to $106.53 as Trump has previously said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons and control Hormuz, the chokepoint to about a fifth of global crude oil flows.
Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year leaning slightly higher to 4.57% and the two-year rising 2.4 basis points to 4.06%, reflecting concern that crude oil prices above $100 a barrel can push up the time it takes the Federal Reserve to restore price pressures to its 2% target.
Late Wednesday, a majority of Federal Open Market Committee participants appeared to be leaning away from rate cuts for now and were open to the possibility of rate increases, minutes of the April 28-29 meeting showed.
"Several participants highlighted that it would likely be appropriate to lower the target range for the federal funds rate once there are clear indications that disinflation is firmly back on track or if solid signs emerge of greater weakness in the labor market," the minutes said.
In economic news Thursday, US initial jobless claims fell to 209,000 in the week ended May 16 from an upwardly revised 212,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 210,000 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
The May flash reading of manufacturing conditions from S&P Global rose to 55.3, a 48-month high, from 54.5 in April, compared with the 53.8 anticipated in a Bloomberg-compiled poll.
April housing starts fell 2.8% from the previous month to a 1.465 million annual rate, compared with expectations compiled by Bloomberg for a 1.410 million rate. Building permits jumped 5.8% to a 1.442 million rate in April, above the 1.384 million rate expected and following a decrease to a 1.363 million rate in March. Homes permitted but not started decreased, so the outlook is mixed for a rebound in starts next month.
In company news, Nvidia (NVDA) reported overnight stronger-than-expected fiscal Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue, beating market expectations. The chipmaker also unveiled an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend.