US stocks end higher despite eurozone doubts

US stocks erased losses in the last hour of trade Wednesday to end mostly higher despite doubts that the EU summit Thursday and Friday will produce a crisis solution that would calm markets. After trading down most of the day, the markets got a boost from a late report from the Federal Reserve showing consumer credit was growing at a 3.7 percent annual rate in September, another sign that US consumers are spending rather than hoarding their dollars. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 46.31 points (0.38 percent) 12,196.44 at the close of trade. The more broad-based S&P 500 edged up 2.55 (0.20 percent) to 1,261.02, while the Nasdaq was essentially unchanged, slipping 0.35 points (0.01) at 2,649.21.