Dow Fights to New High

Separately, the University of Michigan's preliminary read on consumer sentiment for October jumped to 92.3 from 85.4, above the consensus estimate of 86.0.

Oil prices were firming for a second day after word Norway would be reducing its output. Crude rose 71 cents to close at $58.57 a barrel. Most other energy prices were higher, as well. Gold futures added $12.40 to $592.70 an ounce, and silver was up 30 cents to $11.68 an ounce.

Among ratings moves, UBS downgraded restaurant chain Yum! Brands (YUM Quote) to neutral from buy, citing valuation and slower U.S. sales over the near-term. Yum! fell by $1.05, or 1.8%, to $58.03.

Thomas Weisel cut its rating on Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) to peer-perform from outperform. Still, the stock managed to gain 30 cents, or 1.2%, to $24.42.

Science and engineering company SAIC(SAI Quote) began trading publicly after it raised more than $1 billion by selling 75 million shares during its initial public offering. The offer priced at $15, but the stock opened at $17 and subsequently closed at $18.18.

Meanwhile, voice-over-Internet services equipment maker Acme Packet(APKT Quote) priced its IPO at $9.50 a share. The stock surged nearly 68% to end the session at $15.91.

Overseas, equities were uniformly higher. London's FTSE was adding 0.6% to 6157, and Frankfurt's Xetra DAX was higher by 0.2% to 6174. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 1% to 16,536, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tacked on 0.7% to 17,989.

The earnings parade will march on next week, with Wachovia (WB Quote) and Commerce Bancorp (CBH Quote) due to report results on Monday.