After The Bell: Stocks Fight Early Declines To Close Higher

(CBS) -- Stocks closed marginally higher in choppy trading Thursday as a slip in oil prices and soft economic data ruled the day.

The S&P 500 gained 3, the NASDAQ closed up 5 and the Dow Jones industrial average added nearly 80 points, settling to 16,416.

"The fact that the U.S. stock market traded higher and closed higher was an encouraging sign to me," says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank.

He adds that he is starting to find small-cap stocks attractive with more reasonable valuations than big-caps.