The US markets ended higher on Thursday amid optimism surrounding a second round of peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. Investor sentiment improved further after Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. He also stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun have been invited to the White House for further peace discussions. However, gains were capped after the Federal Reserve reported an unexpected decline in U.S. industrial production for March. The Fed said industrial production fell by 0.5 percent in March after climbing by 0.7 percent in February. Street had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. 

Nasdaq surged 86.69 points or 0.36 percent to 24,102.704, S&P 500 increased 18.33 points or 0.26 percent to 7,041.28, and Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 115 points or 0.24 percent to 48,578.72.