NEW YORK (November 29, 2012)--Stocks closed with modest gains Thursday, as talks proceed in Washington over narrowing the U.S. government's budget deficit and pair of strong economic reports also brightened the mood.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the day with a gain of 37 points at 13,022, although it took a brief turn lower at midday after House Speaker John Boehner made pessimistic comments about the talks.

It recovered in the afternoon.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose six points to close at 1,416.

The Nasdaq gained 20 points to end the day at 3,012.

In economics news, the government raised its estimate of third-quarter economic growth and homes sales rose.

Nearly three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange where volume was lighter than the recent average at 3.3 billion shares.