Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 5th
By By The Associated Press
Stocks closed higher Wednesday, their first gain of the week, as bank shares rose and comments by President Barack Obama made investors optimistic that a quick deal could be made to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
Citigroup jumped after the bank said it plans to cut jobs to reduce expenses and improve efficiency. Travelers surged after it announced plans to resume stock buybacks. Apple fell, dragging down the Nasdaq composite.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 82.71 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 13,034.49.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.23 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,409.28.
The Nasdaq composite fell 22.99 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,973.70.
For the week:
The Dow is up 8.91, or 0.1 percent.
The S&P 500 is down 6.90, or 0.5 percent.
The Nasdaq is down 36.54, or 1.2 percent.
For the year:
The Dow is up 816.93, or 6.7 percent.
The S&P 500 is up 151.68, or 12.1 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 368.55, or 14.2 percent.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
