U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday as traders were sifting through the latest corporate earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 187.08 points, or 0.80 percent, to 23,458.36. The S&P 500 increased 21.02 points, or 0.82 percent, to 2,585.64. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 87.08 points, or 1.30 percent, to 6,793.29.

Cisco Systems Inc reported a 3.1 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday after market close, driven by growth in its newer areas and lower expenses.

The company's net income rose to 2.39 billion U.S. dollars, or 48 cents per share, from 2.32 billion U.S. dollars, or 46 cents per share, a year earlier.

Shares of Cisco rose 5.19 percent to close at 35.88 U.S. dollars per share on Thursday.

U.S. retailer Wal-Mart also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue on Thursday, sending the stock more than 8 percent higher.

On the U.S. economic front, initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 249,000 for the week ended Nov. 11, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It was the second straight weekly increase and higher than market expectations.

The Federal Reserve said on Thursday that U.S. industrial production jumped a solid 0.9 percent in October as factory activity recovered from the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, beating market consensus.