Stocks Edged Up in Early Trading

U.S. stocks edged up in the early trading on Tuesday, as the market’s recent upward bias continued. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 41.16 points, or 0.21%, to 19,974.97. The S&P 500 rose 8.87 points, or 0.39% to 2,272.66. The Nasdaq Composite gained 41.58 points, or 0.76%, to 5,504.27.

Crude futures rose Tuesday, with traders sticking to an optimistic view ahead of a landmark effort by oil producers to reduce global supply.Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in February advanced 57 cents, or 1.1%, to $53.59 a barrel. February Brent crude rose 55 cents, or 1%, to $55.71 a barrel.

The price of homes in the U.S. stayed near all-time highs in October and showed no sign of easing, according to an index that tracks housing costs. The S&P Case-Shiller index climbed 0.6% in October and was up 5.1% in the past year, unchanged from the prior month.

Consumer confidence surged in December to the highest level since 2001. The consumer confidence index jumped to 113.7 from a revised 109.4 in November, the Conference Board said Tuesday.