US stocks were slightly higher on Thursday on strong corporate earnings, but the indexes were well off their highs as the euro weakened and commodity prices fell. Blue chips McDonald's Corp and Travellers Cos Inc helped lift the Dow index after reporting better-than-expected results.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 44.27 points, or 0.40 percent, at 11,152.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.76 points, or 0.23 percent, at 1,180.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.00 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,460.39. Online auctioneer eBay rose 8.9 percent to $27.94. Netflix, the movie rental and streaming service, jumped 12.1 percent to $171.69 after both reported upbeat results late Wednesday.
McDonald's gained 1.8 percent to $78.81 after it beat expectations for quarterly profit and same-store sales growth in September. Travellers' shares gained 0.8 percent to $55.10 after the largest publicly traded US property casualty insurer easily beat estimates as premiums rose in its personal insurance lines. Bank of America was the biggest decliner on the Dow as investors worried about continuing foreclosure problems. The stock was off 2.6 percent at $11.45.