U.S. stocks close higher

NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 36.86 points, or 0.09 percent, to 43,275.91. The S&P 500 added 23.20 points, or 0.40 percent, to 5,864.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 115.94 points, or 0.63 percent, to 18,489.55.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and real estate leading the gainers by going up 0.92 percent and 0.73 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy bucked the trend by dropping 0.35 percent.