04:00 PM EDT, 09/19/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended higher Thursday as traders evaluated the Federal Reserve's Wednesday decision to reduce interest rates by 50 basis points.

* Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US declined to its lowest level since May, government data showed.

"The (Fed) yesterday sent a strong signal that it will likely lower rates another (50 basis points) this year to preserve current labor market conditions and one week's claims data doesn't alter that," Oxford Economics said.

* US existing home sales fell more than expected last month amid a decline in the single-family component, though lower rates may spur demand in the coming months, the National Association of Realtors reported.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.04 to settle at $71.55 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.23 at $74.88 as investors moved to add risk following U.S. interest-rate cuts as a report showed American oil inventories fell last week while Middle East tensions are on the rise.

* Darden Restaurants ( DRI ) maintained its full-year outlook despite reporting lower-than-expected fiscal Q1 results amid slowing traffic in July. Separately, the company and ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies ( UBER ) said they entered into an exclusive multiyear delivery partnership.

Darden shares jumped 8.3% while Uber ( UBER ) gained 2.6%.

* Salesforce ( CRM ) was up 5.3% even as The Wall Street Journal reported Walt Disney ( DIS ) would stop using the company's communications tool Slack after a data breach.