Stocks End Mostly Higher after Washington Deal

U.S. stocks mostly rose on Thursday, carrying the S&P 500 to a record close, as investors regained confidence in the market following a last-minute deal to avoid a U.S. default. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 2.18 points, or 0.01%, at 15,371.65. The S&P 500 index added 11.61 points, or 0.67%, to 1,733.15. The Nasdaq Composite gained 23.72 points, or 0.62%, to 3,863.15.

Google Inc said that its consolidated revenue increased 12 percent to $14.89 billion in the third quarter, even as losses deepened at its Motorola mobile phone business. It earned $2.97 billion, or $8.75 per share in the three months ended September 30, compared to $2.18 billion, or $6.53 per share, last year.

BlackBerry Ltd. saw its shares rise more than 1% to $8.21 on Thursday afternoon following a report in the Wall Street Journal that Chinese PC maker Lenovo is considering making a bid for the troubled smartphone maker.