Major Averages End Session Higher

Updated from 2:09 p.m. EST

Tech shares and blue-chips spent the entire session in positive territory and closed higher Thursday as investors continued trying to end the year on a positive note.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43.24 points, or 0.4%, to 10131.31, while the Nasdaq added 15.72 points, or 0.8%, to 1976.42. The S&P 500 gained 7.76 points, or 0.7%, to 1157.13. Since the start of the quarter, the Dow is up about 14% while the Nasdaq has gained 32%.

European markets were higher, with London's FTSE 100 gaining 0.7% to 5213 and Germany's Xetra DAX up 2% at 5117. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei added 2.6% to 10,458, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.3% to 11,360.

Oil shares rose after an OPEC official said he expects the oil exporting group to agree to production cuts when it meets Friday in Cairo. The comment sent crude oil futures up more than 6% in London to $20.55 a barrel.

The bidding for HotJobs.com (HOTJ Quote) appeared over after TMP Worldwide (TMPW Quote) said it wouldn't raise its bid for the online recruitment site. That clears the way for Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) to follow through with its unsolicited $436 million cash and stock bid. HotJobs lost 30 cents to $10.37, while Yahoo gained 26 cents to $17.77. TMP gained $1.85 to $43.73.

In foreign exchange trading, the yen dropped again, hitting its lowest level in more than three years against the dollar and also falling against the euro. The greenback was slightly weaker against the single European currency.

A report on new claims for unemployment insurance that had been scheduled for Thursday was pushed back to tomorrow.

Treasuries were stronger. Around 4 p.m. EST, the 10-year was climbing 26/32 to 99 11/32, yielding 5.09%.