Stocks muster gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks struggled higher Tuesday afternoon, as investors weighed upbeat corporate news with a jump in oil prices, in light trading ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 16.02 to 12,332.56, Charts) and the broader S&P 500 (up 1.63 to 1,402.13, Charts) index both added a few points with roughly 2 hours left in the session.

The Nasdaq composite (down 0.01 to 2,452.71, Charts) was little changed after ending the previous session at its highest level since February 2001.

All three major gauges were weaker in the morning, as investors eyed higher oil prices. But by the early afternoon, the rise in oil prices proved to be a positive, as it sparked a rally in oil services stocks.

The Amex Oil (up 16.47 to 1,168.35, Charts) index added 1.2 percent.

A run up in gold and silver prices gave a boost to stocks in those sectors, with the Amex Gold Bugs (up $11.49 to $329.34, Charts) index adding over 3 percent.

The Dow rose for six sessions in a row, pushing to a new record high, before retreating Monday. The S&P 500 also stalled out after hitting a 6-year high last week.

Whether the major gauges can top those levels this week is unclear, particularly amid lower attendance on Wall Street due to the Thanksgiving holiday. All financial markets are closed Thursday and financial markets close early Friday.

"People are holding their breath a bit this week, ahead of the holiday and ahead of Black Friday," said Russell Lundeberg, Jr., chief investment officer at Barrett Capital Management. He was referring to the critical day after Thanksgiving, the start of the holiday retail sales period.

Lundeberg said that stocks will likely have more direction next week, as Wall Streeters return from vacations and as retailers give fuller reports about Black Friday and the weekend.

Longer term, the rally should be able to continue, he said, since the major underlying factors that have supported the advance since the summer are still in place.

They include bullish corporate earnings, a Federal Reserve that seems to have halted its rate-hiking campaign, lower oil prices, and a sense that the economy is slowing, but not heading for a recession.

Among stock movers Tuesday, Dow component Boeing (up $2.79 to $91.91, Charts) rose on news that it has received a $5.5 billion order from Korean Air.

Fellow Dow stock Verizon Communications (up $0.53 to $35.20, Charts) rose after Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded it to "outperform" from "neutral," according to Reuters.

Google (up $11.86 to $506.91, Charts) shares rose 2 percent, sending the search engine leader past $500 for the first time ever.

Medtronic (up $4.63 to $53.58, Charts) shares rose 9 percent in active New York Stock Exchange trading after the maker of heart devices reported higher than expected quarterly earnings late Monday

Intel (down $0.50 to $21.77, Charts) and Broadcom (down $0.79 to $36.21, Charts) both slipped after helping to lead the chip sector higher over the last few sessions.

Shares of Dow stock General Motors (down $0.93 to $33.25, Charts) slipped after Troy Clarke, the automaker's president for North America, said the company's restructuring was not yet finished. Clarke's comments were part of a prepared speech to be given to the Detroit Automotive Press Association.

Market breadth was mixed and volume was moderate. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners topped losers three to two on volume of 950 million shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners and advancers were roughly even as 1.1 billion shares changed hands.

U.S. light crude oil for January delivery rose $1.15 to $59.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Investors also paid attention to morning comments from Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh, who told the New York Stock Exchange that although inflation has moderated, it remains "uncomfortably elevated."

Treasury bond prices inched higher, lowering the yield on the ten-year note to about 4.58 percent from roughly 4.59 percent late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar was little changed versus the yen and euro.

COMEX gold gained $6.40 to $628.50 an ounce.

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