Oil Prices Pull Stocks Higher

NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are opening mostly higher Tuesday as the price of oil jumps more than 3 percent and energy companies rise. The Commerce Department says retail sales climbed in October, a sign consumers continue to spend and a possible positive for economic growth. Bond yields slip after a weeklong surge following the presidential election.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average lost 56 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,812 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,166. The Nasdaq composite jumped 27 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,245.

ENERGY: Energy companies led the market higher as oil prices jumped. Benchmark U.S. crude gained $1.56, or 3.6 percent, to $44.88 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose $1.55, or 3.5 percent, to $45.98 a barrel in London. Exxon Mobil rose $1.20, or 1.4 percent, to $86.48 and Schlumberger gained $2.53, or 3.2 percent, to $81.24. Apache added $2.37, or 4 percent, to $61.30.

SHOP TIL THEY DROP: Equity One will combine with Regency Center in a deal that combines two real estate investment trusts that own shopping centers. The two companies have more than 400 properties, most of them anchored by grocery stores. Equity One climbed $1.93, or 6.9 percent, to $29.80 while Regency Center lost $2.66, or 3.8 percent, to $67.20.

BUFFET BUYS AIRLINES: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett bought stock in United Continental and American Airlines. The investor has avoided the volatile industry in the past, but disclosed stakes in each company in a form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. United picked up $1.42, or 2.3 percent, to $64.36 and American gained 40 cents to $43.80.

RETAIL DETAILS: Retail sales climbed 0.8 percent in October as consumers spent more money on cars and home and garden supplies, among other types of products. Retail sales over last two months have been the strongest in more than two years, which shows consumers are still spending and the economy might grow more quickly in the fourth quarter than economists expect.

Continued gains for online retailers. Amazon jumped $17.66, or 2.5 percent, to $736.73 while department stores traded lower as they continued to lose sales.

JD DEALING: Chinese e-commerce company JD.com climbed after it reported strong quarterly results. The company also said it might reorganize its JD Finance unit, which runs its internet finance business. JD.com said expects to sell its stake in the company and that JD Finance will be owned solely by Chinese investors. The stock climbed $2.04, or 8.6 percent, to $25.76.

UNPRINTABLE: 3D printer maker Stratasys tumbled after its profit and sales fell far short of estimates. The stock shed $2.81, or 13.7 percent, to $17.69.

BONDS: Bond prices rose after tumbling for about a week. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped to 2.22 percent from 2.27 percent.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.92 yen from 108.51 yen. The euro rose to $1.0744 from $1.0726.

FOREIGN MARKETS: Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.6 percent and the CAC-40 in France was 0.1 percent higher. Germany's DAX also gained 0.1 percent. Seoul's Kospi shed 0.3 percent and the Nikkei 225 in Japan finished little changed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.5 percent.

(KA)