Stocks are notching another day of modest gains as the energy sector continues to recover from an ugly start to the year. Energy companies are coming back into favor as the price of oil stabilizes after a nearly two-year decline. On Thursday the sector erased all of its losses from the beginning of the year. Marathon Petroleum climbed almost 8%, while ConocoPhillips gained 6%. The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 44 points, or 0.3%, to 16,943. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose seven points, or 0.4%, to 1,993. The Nasdaq composite inched up four points, or 0.1%, to 4,707. (More Dow Jones stories.)