Roundup: U.S. stocks end higher amid data, Iran deal

U.S. stocks posted modest gains on Thursday, as investors were digesting economic data and news of a preliminary agreement reached on Iran's nuclear program.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 65.06 points, or 0.37 percent, to 17,763.24. The S&P 500 rose 7.27 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,066.96. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 6.71 points, or 0.14 percent, to 4,886.94.

Top negotiators on Thursday concluded the Iran nuclear talks in Lausanne and reached common solutions to outstanding issues, a senior EU official said.

"Today, we have taken a decisive step. We have reached solutions on key parameters of Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini read a joint statement at a press conference held in Lausanne.

"This is a crucial decision, laying great bases for the final text of the JCPOA. We can now restart drafting the text and analysis of the JCPOA guided by the solutions developed in these days," she added.

Meanwhile, U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly fell in the last week, suggesting the labor market continued to expand at a solid pace.

In the week ending March 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims decreased 20,000 from the previous week's revised level to 268,000, the lowest reading since April 2000, according to the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Traders are looking forward to the key March payroll report, which will be released Friday.

U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the goods and services deficit narrowed to a five-year low of 35.4 billion dollars in February, down 7.2 billion U.S. dollars from January's revised level.

"Because the collapse in the trade deficit was the result of a work stoppage that ended in late February, and because an interruption in imports should mean offsetting weakness in inventories and consumption, the port slowdown should have a negative effect, rather than a positive one," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

For the Easter-shortened week, U.S. equities were little changed. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 were up 0.3 percent respectively, while the Nasdaq was slightly down 0.1 percent.

Thursday marked the last trading day of the week, as the stock markets will be closed for Good Friday.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 2.91 percent to end at 14.67 Thursday.

In other markets, crude prices took a pounding Thursday on news of a tentative agreement on Iran's nuclear program.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery lost 95 cents to settle at 49.14 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for May delivery moved down 2.15 dollars to close at 54.95 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies on Thursday as investors were awaiting the closely-watched U.S. nonfarm payroll report due out on Friday.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0895 dollars from 1.0764 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 119.69 Japanese yen, higher than 119.61 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Thursday, with the most active gold contract for June delivery down 7.3 dollars, or 0.60 percent, to settle at 1, 200.90 dollars per ounce. Endite