Santa Claus Rally Lifts Stocks; Dow Climbs Triple Digits

The stock market jumped on Tuesday as the so-called "Santa Claus rally" -- the historic market trend where stocks tend to rise the week before Christmas -- came to pass. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed better than 115 points to close at 13,351. The widely watched blue-chip index traded in a range between 13,232 and 13,366. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF

added 1.11 percent to $145.36. Volume was heavier than normal with around 145.5 million SPY shares trading hands on the day compared to a 3-month daily average of 134 million. The PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF

, which tracks the performance of the Nasdaq 100, surged 1.56 percent to $66.57. The ETF's largest component, Apple

, retraced some of its recent losses by climbing a little less than three percent to $533.81. Crude oil followed the stock market higher as optimism about a potential fiscal cliff deal fueled risk appetite. At last check, NYMEX crude oil futures, the U.S. benchmark, were up 0.91 percent to $87.99 in the electronic session. Brent crude futures had added 1.20 percent to $108.93. In ETF trading, the United States Oil Fund ETF

rose 0.53 percent and closed the equity session at $32.18. Talk of a potential budget deal drove the price of precious metals lower on the day. COMEX gold futures shed 1.42 percent to $1,674.10 while silver futures were last down 1.77 percent to $31.71. The heavily traded SPDR Gold Trust ETF

fell 1.46 percent and closed at $162.06. Long-term Treasuries fell on the session as money moved out of bonds and into equities. The iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

lost 1.03 percent to $120.49. The yield on the 10-Year Note rose five basis points to 1.83 percent. The U.S. dollar was also lower on the day, which helped risk appetite. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish ETF

, which tracks the performance of the greenback versus a basket of foreign currencies, lost 0.32 percent to close the equity session at $21.68. The closely watched EUR/USD pair was last trading at $1.3219, a gain of 0.45 percent.