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U.S. stocks extend gains on firming oil prices, Greece news

Xinhua, February 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks continued to rise in the morning session Tuesday, as investors were boosted by strengthening oil prices and encouraging developments in the eurozone.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.36 points, or 0.80 percent, to 17,500.40. The S&P 500 gained 9.44 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2,030.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 2. 49 points, or 0.05 percent, to 4,679.18.

Oil prices extended gains from the past two days to trade nearly 3 percent higher on Tuesday, as BP announced a cut in capital expenditure for 2015. The energy sector jumped 1.76 percent around midday to lead advancers on the S&P 500.

Adding positive sentiment to the market, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Monday that he would negotiate a new debt agreement for his country with the European Union. Greek stocks soared about 11 percent on Tuesday following the comments.

On the economic front, new orders for manufactured goods, which have dropped for five consecutive months, continued its decrease in December, down 3.4 percent, exceeding market consensus of a 2.2- percent decline, said the U.S. Commerce Department Tuesday.

In corporate news, Lending Club shares rose 4.62 percent around midday Tuesday, after the company announced it launched a strategic, multi-year partnership with Alibaba. Lending Club will team up with Alibaba to offer sales financing to small U.S. business buying items from Chinese suppliers.

"We believe that access to affordable credit through Alibaba and the Lending Club platform can become a competitive advantage for small businesses across America," said Renaud Laplanche, Lending Club's founder and chief executive officer.

The United Parcel Service (UPS) announced fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share of 1.25 dollars, flat to the same period of 2013. The company announced its expected fourth- quarter results on Jan. 23, which were consistent with Tuesday's final results. UPS shares ticked down 0.52 percent around midday.

On the previous day, U.S. stocks surged after volatile trading despite soft economic data, with the three benchmark indices closing almost at their session highs, as investor enthusiasm was ignited by rebounding oil prices. Endite