Stocks Ended Higher Thanks to Materials, Industrials

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, led by advances in the materials and industrials sectors.The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 79.92 points, or 0.49%, to 16,416.58. The S&P 500 climbed 2.92 points, or 0.15%, to 1,915.45. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5.32 points, or 0.12%, to 4,509.56.

Oil futures staged an intraday U-turn on Thursday, settling lower and giving up a portion of 8% leap seen a day earlier. March West Texas Intermediate crude CLH6, -1.67% fell by 56 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $31.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

LinkedIn reported a net loss of $8.4 million, or 6 cents per share, attributable to the company for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 compared with a net income of $3 million, or 2 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue jumped about 34 percent to $861.9 million.