U.S. stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday. The dollar traded flat to higher against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery rose 2.6 percent to $51.60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added $7 to $1,269.90 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average increased 41.23, or 0.23 percent, to 18,203.17. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 4.69, or 0.22 percent, to 2,144.29. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 2.58, or 0.05 percent, to 5,246.41.