Oil Prices Fall, Giving Rally Some Momentum
Wall Street extended its fourth-quarter rally into a second day Monday, supported by falling oil prices and a bullish assessment of the economy from a Federal Reserve official.</br></br>Investors were cheered by a dip in oil prices, which backed off the $50-per-barrel mark of Friday's close of trading. A barrel of light crude closed at $49.91, down 21 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.</br></br>Stocks received a boost before the session opened when Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Anthony M. Santomero said in a speech that he expected the economy to grow by 3.5 percent to 4 percent through 2005. His comments and the buying that customarily opens a new quarter gave stocks their gains, although analysts said recent economic data and the forecast for third-quarter earnings might not support the bullishness.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.89, or 0.2 percent, to 10,216.54. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 3.67, or 0.3 percent, to 1135.17. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 10.20, or 0.5 percent, to 1952.40.</br></br>Dow component American International Group, one of the world's largest insurance firms, slipped 23 cents, to $68.49, after it announced the Securities and Exchange Commission may sue the company for alleged violations of federal securities laws, based on allegedly misleading statements AIG made in recent news releases.