Stocks rose for a third consecutive session Tuesday, with the Dow industrials and Standard & Poor's 500 index nearing 14-month highs, after two U.S. economic reports continued to fuel optimism about the economy. Stocks opened higher after a government report showed the U.S. economy grew 2.2 percent in the third quarter, a slower pace than the 2.7 percent originally forecast. The stock advance gained momentum after an industry report showed sales of existing U.S. homes rose 7.4 percent in November to the highest level in three years. The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and gained versus the yen. Light sweet crude oil for February delivery rose 68 cents to $74.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for February delivery fell $9.30 to $1,086.70 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.79, or 0.5 percent, to 10,464.93, nearing a 14-month high. Boeing shares rose more than 1 percent after the aerospace giant increased its stake in a company to bring more of the 787 Dreamliner's operations under its direct control. The broader S&P 500 rose 3.97, or 0.4 percent, to 1,118.02 after briefly trading above its 14-month high earlier in the session. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 15.01, or 0.7 percent, to 2,252.67, its highest level since September 2008. The New York Stock Exchange composite index rose 37.03 to 7,184.18. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 7.66 to 1,789.33. And the Russell 2000 index rose 5.00 to 623.60.
