NEW YORK (AP) — Earnings gains and growing consumer confidence have sent stocks broadly higher higher. The three major U.S. indexes all gained more than 1 percent today. The S&P 500 rose 23 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 1,985. All ten industry groups in the index rose. The Dow added 187 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,005. And the Nasdaq composite rose 78 points, or 1.8 percent, to 4,564.
NEW YORK (AP) — Energy stocks have taken a beating in recent sessions as oil prices sank toward $80 a barrel. But they bounced back today. Benchmark U.S. crude gained 42 cents, closing at $81.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In turn, energy stocks registered the biggest gain among the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500, up 2.3 percent overall.
NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says its advertising revenue grew by 64 percent in the third quarter, helped by a boost in mobile ads. Facebook has been trying to steer advertisers to its mobile platform as most of its users now access the social network through mobile devices. Facebook earned $2.6 billion, or 30 cents per share, on revenue of $3.2 billion. Adjusted earnings and revenue beat Wall Street’s estimates. Facebook shares slipped a bit in after-hours trading but hit an all-time high of $81.16 earlier today, more than double its initial public offering price.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is suing AT&T over allegations the company misled millions of smartphone customers about its unlimited data plans. The Federal Trade Commission says AT&T failed to adequately disclose to customers that it would reduce data speeds if they went over a certain amount of data use in a billing cycle. The practice, known as throttling, slows down things like web browsing, GPS navigation or watching streaming videos. The FTC complaint says about 3.5 million consumers have been affected.
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Google says its latest “moon shot” project is a pill that would test for cancer and other illnesses. The company says it’s X division is developing a pill with microscopic particles designed to travel through the bloodstream and search for malignant cells. The particles could then report their findings to a sensor device that a person would wear. Google’s X division applies new technology to solving big problems. Among its other efforts is the self-driving car.
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