US stocks jumped on Tuesday as a fall in oil prices eased concern about inflation and news of an unexpected rise in February pending home sales lifted hopes about the outlook for the housing market.
The Dow average and the Nasdaq were up more than 1 percent each. Shares of retailers and other consumer-oriented companies rose. Wal-Mart Stores Inc was up 1.7 at $48.22.
On Nasdaq, shares of Google Inc gained 3.3 percent to $473.71 after the Web search company inked a deal to enter the television advertising business with US satellite TV operator EchoStar Communications Corp US light crude futures fell 2 percent to settle at $64.64 a barrel as hopes grew for a diplomatic resolution to the stand-off between Iran and Britain.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 127.27 points, or 1.03 percent, at 12,509.57. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 13.17 points, or 0.92 percent, at 1,437.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 30.08 points, or 1.24 percent, at 2,452.34.