Stocks Rise Despite Home Depot Woes

NEW YORK – Wall Street managed a moderate advance in an uneven session Tuesday after a drop in oil prices and encouraging comments from a Federal Reserve official allowed investors to shrug off disappointment over Home Depot Inc.’s declining sales. The Dow Jones industrial average set another closing high.

Home Depot’s results sent the market down in early trading. But comments from outgoing Fed Governor Susan Bies, who said slumping demand for housing might have bottomed out, alleviated some concerns about the downturn dragging down the rest of the economy. Her remarks echoed those of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who last week predicted the economy will keep growing at a modest pace.

Falling oil prices, which tumbled $1.32 to $58.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on forecasts of warmer weather, also lent some support to stocks, as did a proposed merger between XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

The Dow rose 19.07, or 0.15 percent, to 12,786.64, after falling more than 60 points earlier. Tuesday’s climb brought the index to its 31st record close since early October, and its biggest five- day rally since mid-November. The Dow also reached a new trading high of 12,795.93, just short of 12,800.

Broader stock indicators also turned higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.14, or 0.28 percent, to 1,459.68, and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 16.73, or 0.67 percent, to 2,513.04.

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