Stocks Ended Modestly Higher; Tech, Health-care Led

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Thursday, amid strong gains in the technology and health-care segments, as all eyes remained on the Fed ahead of its meeting next week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 76.83 points, or 0.47%, to 16,330.40. The S&P 500 added 10.25 points, or 0.53%, to 1,952.29. The Nasdaq Composite was up 39.72 points, or 0.84%, to 4,796.25.

Google may expand its ultra-fast Internet service into southern California and Kentucky for the first time. The preliminary plan announced Thursday is aiming to bring the “Google Fiber” service to San Diego, Irvine, California and Louisville, Kentucky.

Oil futures on Thursday recouped losses from a day earlier as expectations for further declines in U.S. production helped offset a bigger-than-expected weekly increase in domestic crude supplies. October West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on $1.77, or 4%, to settle at $45.92 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

General Electric said on Thursday that it was exploring a sale of its asset management arm as part of its plan to focus on its core manufacturing operations. Any move to sell GE Asset Management would be separate from the sale of GE Capital, a huge endeavor that will involve disposing of hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of assets.