-- US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as President Donald Trump said Lebanon and Israel agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, adding to optimism around prospects for peace in the Middle East.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4% at 24,100.4 after midday Thursday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 7,037.9. Both benchmarks closed at record highs in the previous session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1% higher at 48,528.2 intraday Thursday.
Among sectors, energy paced the gainers, while health care saw the biggest drop.
Trump said Thursday the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel would begin at 5 pm ET.
"I will be inviting the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, and the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, to the White House for the first meaningful talks between Israel and Lebanon since 1983," Trump said in a social media post. "Both sides want to see peace, and I believe that will happen, quickly."
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam welcomed Trump's announcement, which seeks to pause hostilities between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, CNN reported. Hezbollah will abide by the ceasefire if Israeli attacks stop, the news outlet reported, citing a leading Hezbollah legislator, Ibrahim Moussawi.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 4.4% at $95.29 a barrel intraday, while Brent jumped 5.1% to $99.76.
"Oil is up over doubts that the Strait of Hormuz disruption will ease soon," D.A. Davidson said in a report.
It will take about six months for the US and Iran to reach a peace deal, and the two sides should extend their ceasefire to cover that period, Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing Gulf Arab and European officials familiar with the matter.
US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the 10-year rate up three basis points at 4.31% and the two-year rate rising one basis point to 3.77%.
In company news, IBM (IBM) shares rose 2.4%, the second-top gainer on the Dow. The tech giant will likely exceed Wall Street's estimates for the first quarter and raise its revenue guide amid momentum in the software segment and an earlier completion of the Confluent acquisition, Oppenheimer said in a note.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) shares dropped 6.8%, the steepest decline on the S&P 500, after the healthcare company lowered its full-year earnings outlook to reflect the acquisition of cancer diagnostics firm Exact Sciences.
Charles Schwab (SCHW) followed Abbott on the S&P 500, down 6%. The financial services provider's first-quarter results rose year over year amid a surge in client assets, though revenue fell short of the Street's estimates.
In economic news, US industrial production unexpectedly decreased in March, Federal Reserve data showed.
It's too soon to blame the Middle East conflict for the drop, which driven by "sharply falling" output in the mining and utilities sectors, Oxford Economics said in a note.
Gold was down 0.3% at $4,807.10 per troy ounce, while silver fell 1.6% to $78.38 per ounce.