04:19 PM EDT, 03/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended lower on Thursday as crude oil gained after President Donald Trump cast doubt over reaching a diplomatic solution with Iran, warning Iran to "get serious" in working out a peace deal.

* Trump called upon Iran to work on a ceasefire deal with the US, according to a Thursday post on Truth Social. "They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won't be pretty!"

* US initial jobless claims rose to 210,000 in the week ended March 21 from 205,000 in the previous week, according to a US Labor Department report, as expected in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg.

* May West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $3.69 to settle at $94.01 per barrel, while May Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $5.29 at $107.51.

* French beverages firm Pernod Ricard is weighing a potential acquisition of US wine and spirits maker Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B), Bloomberg News reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. Brown-Forman's class B shares rose about 9.6%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, while its class A shares increased nearly 9%.

* Lumentum ( LITE ) shares were down roughly 11% after the company said it plans to set up a facility in Greensboro, North Carolina, to produce advanced indium phosphide-based optical components used in large-scale artificial intelligence data centers, with Nvidia ( NVDA ) among the expected customers.