Stocks Ended Higher on Tech Boost

U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Thursday, buoyed by popular technology companies including Facebook and Alphabet. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 99.14 points, or 0.41%, to 24,240.05. The S&P 500 gained 9.29 points, or 0.35%, to 2,638.56. The Nasdaq Composite added 41.64 points, or 0.61%, to 6,812.02.

Oil prices ended higher ont Thursday after dropping to a three-week low. January West Texas Intermediate crude rose 73 cents, or 1.3%, to settle at $56.69 a barrel. February Brent crude added 98 cents, or 1.6%, to $62.20 a barrel.

American consumers increased their borrowing by $20.5 billion in October. It was the biggest gain in 11 months and reflected strong increases in the use of credit cards and in auto and student loans.