Dow Closed at Record High

U. S. stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday, with the Dow managing to post another record closing high, as investors weighed upbeat earnings and deal news against concerns over falling oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40.59 points, or 0.23%, to 17,652.79. The S&P 500 gained 1.08 points, or 0.05%, to 2,039.33. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.01 points, or 0.11%, to 4,680.14.

Wal-Mart reported Thursday morning that it grew its comparable store sales for the first time in seven quarters. Wal-Mart reported $118.1 billion in third quarter revenue, a sales figure that rose 2.8% compared to the year-ago quarter. Net income for the quarter came in at $3.7 billion, down 0.7% compared to the prior-year period.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) said it would buy Procter & Gamble Co’s (PG.N) Duracell battery business in exchange for its $4.7 billion stake in the world’s No. 1 household products maker.

Brent crude dropped to a four-year low amid signs OPEC won’t cut output and energy producers. Brent oil slid 1.6 percent to $79.10 a barrel at 8:45 a.m. in New York.

The federal government’s budget gap widened in October, the Treasury Department said Thursday, but the higher figure was a result of calendar shifts and not a worsening fiscal picture. In October, the deficit was $122 billion, an increase of $31 billion, or 34%, from the same month a year ago. October is the first month of the 2015 fiscal year.

Baker Hughes (BHI) soared 16% on Thursday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company was in talks to be acquired by fellow oil-field services company Halliburton HAL, +1.05% Halliburton’s stock gained 1.1%.

United Parcel Service Inc expects full-year 2015 earnings per share to fall within a range of $5.45 to $5.70, the company’s chief financial officer Kurt Kuehn said on Thursday.