S&P 500 Sees Its Highest Close of the Year

US stock indexes overcame an early wobble and ended slightly higher, giving the Standard & Poor's 500 index its highest close of the year, the AP reports. Health care companies led the rebound Thursday. Energy stocks lagged the rest of the market after a meeting of OPEC ministers failed to results in an agreement to curtail output. Johnson & Johnson rose about 2% on news the company has agreed to buy privately held hair care products maker Vogue International. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 48 points, or 0.3%, to 17,838. The Standard and Poor's 500 index rose 5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,105. The Nasdaq composite gained 19 points, or 0.4%, 4,971. (More Dow Jones stories.)