U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday while investors took in a slew of economic data and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) decision Wednesday to raise interest rates. In U.S. economic news, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2 percent in November, which was in line with expectations. Weekly jobless claims came in at 254,000. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) homebuilder sentiment index gained 7 points to 70, easily beating expectations. The dollar traded 1.34 percent higher against a basket of currencies. Light sweet crude oil for January delivery dropped 0.27 percent to $50.90 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures fell $33.90 to $1,129.80 per ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 59.85, or 0.30 percent, to 19,852.38. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index added 8.75, or 0.39 percent, to 2,262.03. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 20.18, or 0.37 percent, to 5,456.85.