Dow closes at new high; profit outlooks overshadow oil

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - U.S. stocks closed sharply higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average setting a record close, after positive forecasts from some household names helped investors shrug off an upcoming cut in oil output.

Gains in energy shares lent support, after crude spiked above $62 a barrel as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries confirmed it will cut output by another half a million a barrels a day starting Feb. 1. See full story.
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