04:13 PM EDT, 05/21/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher Thursday after President Donald Trump appeared willing to wait for Iran to review Washington's latest proposal to agree on a framework for a peace deal.

* Iran 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.

* US initial jobless claims last week fell to 209,000 from an upwardly revised 212,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 210,000 in a Bloomberg survey.

* April housing starts fell 2.8% to a 1.465 million annual rate from March, compared with a 1.41 million rate expected in a Bloomberg survey.

* July West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.76 to settle at $97.50 per barrel, while July Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.81 at $104.21.

* IBM ( IBM ) , GlobalFoundries ( GFS ) , and D-Wave Quantum ( QBTS ) said they are set to receive billions of dollars in US government backing as part of the Trump administration's move to solidify the nation's lead in quantum computing. IBM ( IBM ) shares rose 12%, the top gainer on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

* Intuit (INTU) shares fell 20%, the biggest drop on the S&P 500, after the company said it expects to incur $300 million to $340 million in restructuring charges from a plan to cut its workforce by 17%, primarily in fiscal Q4.