US stocks rose on Tuesday after General Motors Corp's announced it would limit its reliance gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs and an unexpectedly strong factory orders report brightened the view of the US manufacturing sector.
Investors were reassured by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who issued a rare warning on the inflationary risk posed by a weak dollar and said US interest rates were at the right level for an economy facing both price pressures and threats to growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 24.01 points, or 0.19 percent, at 12,527.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 6.64 points, or 0.48 percent, at 1,392.31. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.86 points, or 0.76 percent, at 2,510.39.
Shares of GM rose 3.6 percent to $18.06 after its chief executive announced a plan to build more small and mid-size cars and cut back on truck output in the face of rising gasoline prices. GM also said it could sell its Hummer brand. Shares of No 1 retailer Wal-Mart rose 1.4 percent to $57.98 as oil fell $1.72 to $126.04 a barrel. Lehman shares fell 4.3 percent to $32.36 on the NYSE.