U.S. stocks trade higher amid oil volatility

U.S. stocks shaved most of early gains to trade mildly higher around midday Tuesday, as Wall Street meditated on a renewed decline in oil prices.

By noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 14.76 points, or 0.09 percent, to 16,413.33. The S&P 500 rose 3.86 points, or 0.20 percent, to 1,927.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 25.72 points, or 0.55 percent, to 4,663.71.

Oil prices reversed early gains to trade sharply lower around midday Tuesday, refreshing 12-year lows, as oversupply worries persisted.

Oil prices have dropped around 16 percent since the start of the year, dragged lower by a global supply glut and a strong U.S. dollar.

On Monday, oil prices plummeted, with both the U.S. oil and Brent crude plunging more than 5 percent, as global demand still looked fragile.

On the economic front, the number of job openings was little changed at 5.4 million on the last business day of November, the U.S. Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Overseas, the Chinese currency, the yuan, showed signs of stabilization Tuesday. The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar was little changed at 6.5628 Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

Chinese stocks closed slightly higher after volatile trading in the day, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.2 percent to close at 3,022.86 points.

On Monday, U.S. stocks ended mixed, with the Nasdaq extending its losing streak to an eighth straight session, as Wall Street tried to rebound from last week's sharp decline amid diving oil prices. Endit