U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday as investors weighed a slew of economic data while watching surging oil prices. The dollar traded near the flat line against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery added 2.34 percent to $49.83 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures dropped $1.10 to $1,268.60 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 115, or 0.64 percent, to 18,284. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 10, or 0.5 percent, to 2,161. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 34, or 0.66 points, to 5,324.