DOW

Dow

12,279.01

+81.13

+0.67%

By: Abby Schultz

Stocks ended just off the highs of the day Tuesday amid light volume and despite a couple of weak economic reports, as energy and telecom gained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 81.13 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 12,279.01, after closing lower in the previous session, also amid low volume. For the month, the blue-chip index has gained 0.43 percent.


The S&P 500 rose 9.25 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 1,319.44. The broad market index remain lower for the month, down 0.6 percent.


The Nasdaq rose 26.21 points, or 0.96 percent, to close at 2,756.89. The tech-heavy index is also lower for the month, down 0.9 percent. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, fell to nearly 18.

Very few trades are taking place except among institutional investors shifting asset allocations before the quarter ends, according to Todd Schoenberger, managing director, LandColt Trading.


Retail investors have looked at the disaster in Japan, fighting in Libya, rising oil prices, and inflation, and "are nervous to make additional moves into equities," Schoenberger said. But even institutional investors are only doing what they to do. "You know things are a little chaotic when the uncertainty factor starts to move into the institutional space," he said.

The reason stocks continue rise even in the face of bad economic news and global uncertainty is traders know the Federal Reserve will continue to pump money into the economy through its second round of stimulus spending, known as quantitative easing or QE2, he added.