U.S. stocks closed modestly higher Thursday after Federal Reserve (Fed) chair nominee Janet Yellen indicated in a Senate hearing that she will continue to support the economy with stimulus measures. In U.S. economic news, Yellen's comments appeared to have convinced investors that she would continue the Fed's current $85-billion-per-month bond-buying program for the next few months. The program - also known as quantitative easing or QE - has helped spur stocks by pumping markets with extra cash. In international economic news, European markets closed with modest gains following the news that the eurozone economy grew by 0.1 percent in the third quarter, in line with economists' expectations. Asian markets closed higher. A weaker yen helped Japan's Nikkei jump 2.1 percent. The currency eased after a report showed Japan's economy grew 1.9 percent in the third quarter - a sharp slowdown from the previous quarter. In corporate news, Cisco shares tumbled more than 10 percent after the company reported weak sales for the fiscal first quarter and issued a weak outlook for the current quarter, too. Wal-Mart reported better-than-expected earnings, though the retailer missed on revenue and reported a slight decline in same-store sales in the United States. Shares of department store chain Kohl's) plunged following poor results and a weak outlook. The bad news from these two retailers came a day after Macy's ignited a retail rally thanks to its strong sales and guidance. Viacom reported a gain in quarterly revenue, driven by sales in media networks and filmed entertainment, and double-digit gains in net earnings. The dollar rose against the euro and the yen, but fell versus the pound. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery lost 12 cents to $93.76 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures gained $17.90 to $1,286.30 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial climbed 54.59, or 0.35 percent, to 15,876.22. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.62, or 0.48 percent, to 1,790.62. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 7.16, or 0.18 percent, to 3,972.74.
