Stocks are closing slightly higher, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index to the highest point since November 2007.

Trading was thin as a winter storm blanketed the Northeast with snow.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 49 points to close at 13,993 Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 rose eight points at 1,518. The Nasdaq composite rose 29 points to 3,194.

Traders were encouraged by a 21 percent decline in the U.S. trade deficit.

Activision Blizzard, which makes "Call of Duty" and other video games, surged 11 percent after posting sharply higher earnings and revenue.

One stock fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was thinner than usual because of the storm, 2.9 billion shares versus the recent average of 3.5 billion.