* Europe shares also edge higher
* Oil prices rebound off multi-year lows
* U.S. economic data mixed as home resales drop sharply
* Dollar falls for third straight session
(Updates with opening of U.S. markets, changes dateline from
LONDON)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Wall Street rose on Tuesday,
buoyed by energy shares as oil prices rebounded off multi-year
lows, as investors digested mixed U.S. data about home resales
and economic growth.
The U.S. dollar .DXY fell for a third consecutive session.
Oil prices enjoyed a respite from a slide this month that
has deepened a 1-1/2-year collapse. U.S. crude prices CLc1
rose 1.1 percent to $36.21 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 added
0.3 percent to $36.44 a barrel.
Wall Street has been closely correlated with energy prices
in recent weeks as the commodity has plumbed new lows.
"The oil price is still the big driver of market sentiment
at the moment for stock markets, but I'm not sure if it will
hold above those lows, given the concerns about a glut of
supply," said Hantec Markets' analyst Richard Perry.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 43.19 points,
or 0.25 percent, to 17,294.81, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.83
points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,025.98 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 4.75 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,973.68.
The S&P energy sector index .SPNY rose 1.5 percent and led
all other sectors.
Shares of oil majors Chevron (N:CVX) CVX.N and Exxon Mobil (N:XOM) XOM.N
rose 1.5 percent and 0.5 percent respectively and were among the
biggest positive influences on the benchmark S&P 500.
"I think the main thing that markets are going to be looking
at today is the whole deal with oil," said Matthew Tuttle, chief
executive, Tuttle Tactical Management in Stamford, Connecticut.
The pan-European stock index .FTEU3 edged up 0.1 percent.
Spain's IBEX .IBEX rose 0.8 percent, rebounding off Monday's
nearly three-month lows on fears of political instability after
the most inconclusive election in the country's history.
MSCI's all-country world index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.4
percent.
Investors digested mixed data out of the United States.
U.S. home resales posted their sharpest drop in five years
in November, according to the National Association of Realtors,
in a potential warning sign for the U.S. economy.
A separate report from the Commerce Department showed the
country's gross domestic product grew at a 2.0 percent annual
pace in the third-quarter, a fairly healthy clip, supported by
strong consumer and business spending.
U.S. Treasury yields rose as the economic growth data
reinforced a view that the Federal Reserve would proceed with a
steady pace of interest rate increases next year.
"This data is a little better for the economy than expected,
so that makes it less likely that (the Fed's) tightening program
is going to be derailed," said David Coard, head of fixed income
sales and trading at Williams Capital Group in New York.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR were down 8/32
in price to yield 2.225 percent, from a yield of 2.197 percent
late Monday. U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds US30YT=RR were down
17/32 in price to yield 2.952 percent, from a yield of 2.925
percent late Monday.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks against a basket of
currencies, fell 0.3 percent. The euro EUR= rose 0.5 percent
against the dollar.
"There's a lack of clear momentum for the dollar in the past
week," said Brian Dangerfield, currency strategist at RBS (L:RBS)
Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.3 percent after two sessions of
gains.