Stocks end higher as NYC monitors Ebola patient

Stocks closed higher Friday as news of an Ebola diagnosis in New York City had little effect on trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 126 points, 0.8%, to 16,804. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished up 14 points, 0.7%, to 1964, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed up 31 points, 0.7%, to 4484.
Benchmark indexes posted their best one-week gains for 2014 as the S&P 500 snapped a four-week losing streak.
Sales of new homes were essentially flat in September, after the government sharply revised downward what was initially an August surge in buying.
The gains followed an explosive rally on Thursday, when better-than-expected earnings from automaker General Motors and heavy equipment maker Caterpillar sent stocks surging.
The Dow came close to having its best day of 2014, but news about a New York City doctor being rushed to a hospital on Ebola fears trimmed a 300-point gain to 217 points by the end of trading.J
After the bell, it was confirmed the doctor, Craig Spencer, has tested positive for Ebola.

Wall Street is closing out a tumultuous period that at one point last week looked as if the stock market was in serious danger of suffering its first correction -- a 10% pullback -- in more than three years.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index briefly fell into losing territory for the year on the sell-off's worst day, Sept. 16, and one of the things scaring investors that day was the possibility of an Ebola outbreak here in the U.S.
The fact there is a confirmed case in New York City had no apparent effect on the stock market Friday showed just how much confidence has shifted in the past week.
In corporate news Friday, Dow component Procter & Gamble announced it will separate Duracell as a standalone company. PG shares are up 2.5%.
Overseas markets were mixed as traders also monitored the news out of New York.
"The level of attention traders pay to Ebola could increase from here," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne, Australia.
Europe stocks took a hit. The DAX of Germany closed 0.7% lower.
Asia markets moved in different directions. Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 1%, but China's Shanghai composite index was flat.
                                                                                                       From USATODAY.COM