Energy stocks lead market gain as oil price climbs

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks were solidly higher for a third straight day on Wednesday, once again helped by higher oil prices, which lifted shares in oil and gas companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 185 points, or 1 percent, to close at 17,602. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25 points, or 1.25 percent, to 2,064, and the Nasdaq composite added 45 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,046.

With the gains in the last three days, U.S. markets have recovered roughly two-thirds of the losses they incurred late last week. The S&P 500 is back to breakeven for the year.

Oil prices rose for a third day, bouncing back from 11-year lows hit earlier in the week, which helped lift the battered energy sector. U.S. crude futures jumped $1.32, or 3.6 percent, to $37.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, which is used to price international oils, added $1.14, or 3.2 percent, to $37.25 a barrel in London.

Oil and gas prices rose sharply, easily beating out other sectors in the markets. Among individual stocks, Murphy Oil rose $1.25, or 5.5 percent, to $23.56, ConocoPhillips rose $2.28, or 5 percent, to $48.53 and Halliburton was up $1.28, or 4 percent, to $35.31. Overall, the S&P 500 energy sector is up nearly 5 percent just this week.

"The market lately has been ruled pretty clearly by oil in particular, and more broadly, commodity prices. Now we seem to have some stability in oil, copper and other metals, that's helping the market," said Scott Wren, senior global equity strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Nike fell $3.36, or 2.6 percent, to $128.47, after the company reported revenue that fell short of analysts' forecasts. Nike is still the biggest winner in the Dow average this year with a gain of 34 percent.

Wednesday is the last full day of trading ahead of the Christmas holiday on Friday. Markets will close early in the U.S. on Thursday.

The Commerce Department said factory orders for long-lasting goods such as autos, airplanes and electronics were flat in November, as the impact of a strong dollar and struggling global economy weigh on U.S. manufacturers. Orders for capital goods not including aircraft, a key proxy for business investment, fell 0.4 percent.

U.S. government bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.26 percent. The dollar slipped to 120.95 yen from 121.04 yen a day earlier. The euro edged lower to $1.0876 from $1.0952.

Precious and industrial metals prices ended mixed. Gold fell $5.80 to $1,068.30 an ounce, silver slipped 3 cents to $14.29 an ounce and copper edged up two cents to $2.12 a pound.