Stocks Gain for Third Day

U.S. stocks advanced for the third straight session Tuesday, though finished off their highs of the day, as investors focused on the possibility European policy makers could super-charge their sovereign bailout fund. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 146.83 points, or 1.33%, at 11,190.69. The S&P 500 ended up 12.43 points, or 1.07%, at 1,175.38. The Nasdaq Composite rose 30.14 points, or 1.20%, to 2,546.83.

Hopes for more decisive action from European officials in tackling the financial crisis — including expanding the European bailout fund — sparked a rally in global stocks on Tuesday. But the euphoria may prove premature as details remain murky and the objective nebulous.

More than half of U.S. cities have cut staff, canceled construction projects or raised fees this year, according to a report from the National League of Cities that catalogs the vast damage from shrunken property- and income-tax revenue.

Oil rose more than 5 percent Tuesday on hopes that European leaders are closer to drafting a plan to contain the region’s debt crisis. Benchmark oil rose $4.21, or 5.3 percent, to finish at $84.45 per barrel in New York.

Gold futures on Tuesday snapped a four-day losing streak as hopes for a resolution to the European debt crisis stopped a rush to cash that skimmed more than 8% off the price of gold. Gold for December delivery added $57.70, or 3.6%, to settle at $1,652.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of Research In Motion jumped more than 6 percent on Tuesday on market speculation that activist investor Carl Icahn had taken a stake in the struggling BlackBerry maker.