US stocks closed higher as congressional lawmakers reached a deal to increase the debt ceiling in the short term. The agreement, according to reports, will extend the debt ceiling through early December. Also helping sentiment on Thursday — weekly jobless claims fell sharply last week as the enhanced unemployment benefits ended. Initial filings for unemployment benefits totaled 326,000 for the week ended October 2, below the 345,000 estimates and a drop from the previous week’s 364,000. On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 337 points, or 0.98%, to 34,754, while the S&P 500 rose 0.83% to 4,399. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.05% to 14,654.