Stocks close with gains on strong earnings reports
People pass the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street on Oct. 2, 2014. Credit: AP / Richard Drew
Financial indexes stocks indexes closed higher Thursday as traders welcomed more positive news on corporate earnings and deals.
At the close on Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 1.08 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,039.33. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 40.59 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,652.79. The Nasdaq composite added 5.01 points, or 0.11 percent, to 4,680.14.
Baker Hughes soared 15 percent late Thursday after a report that Halliburton was in talks to buy the oil field services company.
The surge mitigated a slump in the energy sector brought on by the latest decline in the price of oil. Crude lost 4 percent and is trading at a four-year low as investors worry about supplies outstripping demand.
Walmart and media conglomerate Viacom rose after reporting results that were better than analysts were expecting.
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