MARKET ROUNDUP (Source Bloomberg)

S&P 500 Has Best Final-Day Rally Since 1974 on Budget; as Congress neared a deal to avert more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts. The S&P 500 rallied 1.7 percent to 1,426.19 at 4 p.m. in New York. The benchmark index finished the year with a 13 percent gain, its best annual performance since 2009. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 166.03 points, or 1.3 percent, to 13,104.14 today. More than 6.1 billion shares traded hands, about in line with the three-month average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. U.S. exchanges are closed tomorrow for the New Year's holiday.

Oil Advances to Two-Month High on Budget Deal Optimism; that negotiators will reach a last-minute U.S. budget deal averting more than $600 billion of tax increases and spending cuts that threaten economic growth. Crude oil for February delivery increased $1.02 to $91.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement since Oct. 18. Prices dropped 7.1 percent this year and 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter. They rose 3.3 percent in December. The volume for West Texas Intermediate oil contracts traded in New York was 53 percent below the 100- day average.

Source: Jupiter Securities Research - 02 January 2013