04:19 PM EDT, 09/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended higher on Thursday after a lower-than-expected jobless claims report and the Fed's forecast of two more hikes this year.

* US initial jobless claims fell by 33,000 to 231,000 in the week ended Sept. 13, reversing a 28,000 increase to 264,000 in the prior week. Bloomberg reported that economists had expected 240,000 claims.

* The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, which gauges the health of the manufacturing sector, rose to 23.2 in September from minus 0.3 in August, surpassing analysts' expectations of 1.7, according to a Bloomberg poll.

* October West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.37 to settle at $63.68 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.40 to $67.55.

* Intel ( INTC ) shares rose nearly 23%, making it the top performer on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, following Nvidia's ( NVDA ) announcement on Thursday that it will invest $5 billion in Intel ( INTC ) stock at $23.28 per share. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares increased by 3.5%.

* FactSet Research Systems ( FDS ) shares fell about 10.3% after the company reported fiscal Q4 adjusted earnings that missed analyst estimates.