NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose Thursday as the price of oil climbed for the third day in a row while key oil-producing nations discussed cuts in production. Tech and consumer stocks traded higher, led by Amazon and PayPal, while drugmakers fell.
Facebook made its biggest leap in 2½ years after it said its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter. The social network finished 2015 with almost 1.6 billion users. Sports apparel maker Under Armour also surged. Energy prices and companies rose as Russia, Saudi Arabia and OPEC discussed production cuts.
The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 125.18 points, or 0.79 percent, to 16,069.64. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index picked up 10.41 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,893.36. The Nasdaq composite index rose 38.51 points, or 0.9 percent, to 4,506.68.
Stocks switched between small gains and losses throughout the morning. In the afternoon, they gradually traded higher.
U.S. crude rose 92 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $33.22 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained 79 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $33.89.
The price of U.S. oil has climbed 9.5 percent over the past three days as investors hope production will be reduced, which would strengthen the fuel’s price.
Oil prices have been on a long, steep slide since 2014 as world stockpiles hit extremely high levels and investors feared demand would get weaker. On Jan. 20, U.S. oil closed at a 12-year low of $26.55 a barrel.
Oil and natural gas producer Devon Energy rose $2.30, or 9.4 percent, to $26.79. Oil company Hess, which rose almost 6 percent Wednesday after it said it will cut more spending, picked up another $3.49, or 9.5 percent, to $40.34.
Facebook surged after reporting that its profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter. The social networking site gained another 46 million users, giving it 1.59 billion around the world. The stock rose $14.66, or 15.6 percent, to $109.11, its best day since July 2013.
Facebook’s results lifted the four big-name “FANG” stocks: Facebook, e-commerce giant Amazon, streaming video company Netflix and search-engine operator Google. Amazon advanced almost 9 percent, while Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and Netflix each rose about 4 percent. But Amazon reported disappointing fourth-quarter results after the market closed, and its shares tumbled 14 percent in aftermarket trading. PayPal reported strong results and added $2.65, or 8.4 percent, to $34.24 — its best result since spinning off from eBay in July.
