U.S. stocks continued Wednesday's gains throughout trading Thursday as U.S.-Iran tensions eased over investors. Stock futures extend gains, while commodities pared last week's explosive gains. Adding to the relief, Bloomberg reported Thursday that China has confirmed that Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington to sign that 'phase one' trade deal with the U.S. next week. The Vice Premier will visit the U.S. from Jan. 13 to Jan. 15, according to China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Gao Feng.

Here's how the major U.S. market indices closed on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.67% or +21.65 points

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.74% or +211.81 points

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.81% or +74.18 points

In Stock News, Apple (AAPL  ) shares climbed today to a record high after data from the Chinese government showed iPhone sales in China increased 18% in December. Alphabet (GOOGL  ) rose after Bank of America (BAC  ) raised its price target on the Google parent's stock, citing a healthy advertising business. For retail, Kohl's (KSS  ) and J.C. Penny (JCP  ) fell after both companies posted a sales decline during the recent holiday season. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY  ) shares also plummeted after reporting Q3 results that missed expectations.

In Sector News, all 11 sectors had positive growth on Thursday. The increases are as follows: Information Technology +1.13%, Financials +0.77%, Energy +0.76%, Consumer Staples +0.73%, Consumer Discretionary +0.56%, Utilities +0.52%, Health Care +0.47%, Industrials +0.46%, Materials +0.33%, Communication Services +0.26% and Real Estate +0.06%.

Lastly, in Commodity and Currency News, oil prices continue to fall as market participants recover from last week's panic. West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) fell over -0.62% and Brent Crude (BNO  ) decreased over -0.50%. Gold (GLD  ) also continues to fall, with the metal's price dropping almost -0.30%. However, the metal's price per ounce is still over $1,550. Finally, the U.S. Dollar maintained its gains as it closed on Thursday, with the DXY Index increasing +0.12%.