U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, helped by some stabilization in oil prices and recovery in hard-hit areas of the market this year. Analysts also attributed some of the gains in stocks to year-end seasonal factors, including that markets close early Thursday and are shut Friday for holidays. In U.S. economic news, third-quarter gross domestic product was revised downward 0.1 percent to a 2.0 percent annual rate, a sharp deceleration from the 3.9 percent pace in the second quarter, but remaining near the economy's long-run potential. Existing-home sales fell a sharp 10.5 percent in November as buyers faced rising prices. The U.S. dollar fell slightly versus other major currencies. Gold futures fell $6.50 to $1,074.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 33 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $36.14 a barrel, while Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $36.11 a barrel in London. Both contracts remain near multi-year lows. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 165.65, or nearly 1 percent, to 17,417.27. Twenty-seven of the index's 30 components rose, led by Caterpillar, which jumped 4.8 percent. However, the stock is one of the worst performers in the Dow over the past 12 months, down more than 20 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 17.82, or 0.9 percent, to 2,038.97. Materials, energy, and industrials led all ten of the index's sectors higher. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 32.19, or 0.65 percent, to 5,001.11. The index reached the psychologically-important 5,000 level, but shares of Apple fell slightly, limiting overall gains.
