Stocks Extend Gains to Four

U.S. stocks ended higher for the fourth session Thursday, pumped from the start after the European Central Bank unveiled a coordinated dollar-liquidity program with other central banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 186.45 points, or 1.66%, at 11,433.18. The S&P 500 gained 20.43 points, or 1.72%, to 1,209.11. The Nasdaq Composite ended up 34.52 points, or 1.34%, at 2,607.07.

The world’s top central banks announced Thursday that they will provide additional dollar loans to commercial banks in a move seen as a response to growing fears of a European credit crunch triggered by the euro-zone’s sovereign debt crisis. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England, Bank of Japan, and the Swiss National Bank announced they will each conduct additional dollar tenders in an effort to provide liquidity through the end of the year. The central banks said the auctions are coordinated with each other and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

EBay Inc unveiled new PayPal technology to more than a hundred big retailers this week as the e-commerce company tries to take its big online payments business into the physical world.

Research In Motion Ltd. reported a sharp drop in earnings and its shares tumbled on Thursday afternoon as sales of its line of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets have come under pressure from rivals. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s adjusted net profit fell 47 percent to $419 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $4.2 billion. RIM expects to earn between $1.20 and $1.40 a share on sales between $5.3 billion and $5.6 billion in the three months to late November.