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4:25 pm : A drop by the dollar brought buyers in from the sidelines after stocks had fallen for three straight sessions. Early support helped the S&P 500 come within just a couple of points of a new 2009 high, but resistance at current highs left stocks to gradually pare gains for the remainder of the session.

The Dollar Index erased its gains from the previous two sessions with a 0.6% fall. Indian Prime Minister Singh offered support for the greenback, but comments by Chicago Fed President Evans and St. Louis Fed President Bullard stirred selling pressure against the currency. Evans made it known that he thinks near-zero interest rates will remain well into 2010, while Bullard wants to keep the Fed's Mortgage-Backed Securities program active beyond the first quarter of 2010.

There weren't many market-moving headlines for participants to digest this session, though the latest home sales figures proved pleasing. Existing home sales for October made a sharp 10.1% month-over-month spike, which lifted sales to an annualized rate of 6.10 million units. The consensus had called for a 2.3% monthly increase to an annual rate of 5.70 million units. The stronger-than-expected increase in sales took supply down to 7.0 months, the lowest since February 2007.

All 10 major sectors were able to put together solid gains as a result of broad-based support. Telecom settled with the best gains; it advanced 2.6% after AT&T (T 26.78, +0.76) received positive coverage by Barron's.

The energy sector had been a leader in the early going. It had benefited from broader market support and a sharp rise in oil prices, which were also bolstered by the dollar's downturn. However, energy surrendered some of its advance to finish with a 1.6% gain as oil prices pulled back to settle with a fractional gain at $77.52 per barrel.

Gold prices maintained steady strength, though. The precious metal ascended to a new all-time high at $1174.00 per ounce and closed with a 1.6% gain at $1164.80 per ounce. That sent gold stocks up 2.1% and the SPDR Gold Trust (GLD 114.29, +1.35) up solidly.

Treasuries were able to resist an early selling effort and finish fractionally higher. That put the yield on the benchmark 10-year at 3.35%, while the yield on the 2-year stands at 0.72%. Treasuries came into closer focus with the results of a $44 billion auction of 2-year Treasuries. The auction drew a yield of 0.80% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.16, which is better than recent averages.

Overall trading volume on the NYSE was well below the 50-day moving average of 1.28 billion shares. The light action is expected to continue with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up on Thursday.

Advancing Sectors: Telecom (+2.6%), Tech (+1.6%), Energy (+1.6%), Industrials (+1.5%), Financials (+1.5%), Utilities (+1.4%), Health Care (+1.1%), Consumer Staples (+1.0%), Consumer Discretionary (+0.9%), Materials (+0.9%)
Declining Sectors: (None)DJ30 +132.79 NASDAQ +29.97 SP500 +14.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1911/1.86 bln/772 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2343/980 mln/665

3:30 pm : Broad based gains are holding up with 30 minutes left in the session. Gains are coming on lower-than-average volume. Weak volume may be expected for the three remaining sessions this week.

Weakness in the dollar led to precious metal price appreciation, a continuation of the recent trend. Gold futures were especially strong this session. They hit a new all-time high at $1174.00 per ounce in the morning as the dollar hit lows for the day. The December gold futures closed 1.6% higher at $1164.80 per ounce. December silver futures hit highs not seen since July of 2008 this session. They closed up 1.4% at $18.69 per ounce.

January crude oil opened the session higher and extended that momentum to hit a session high at $79.92 per barrel. However, the January contract faded into the close and finished up just five cents at $77.52 per barrel. The December natural gas contract, which expires at the close of the pit trade tomorrow, also pared most of its gains before the close. It ended up just 3 cents, or 0.7% at $4.45 per contract. The December contract traded as high as $4.58 per contract in the morning. DJ30 +125.38 NASDAQ +27.13 SP500 +14.02 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1900/1.51 bln/786 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2300/695 mln/703

3:00 pm : This afternoon's sideways drift persists as market participants head into the final hour of the session. That has kept this session's broad-based gains intact, though stocks remain off of their session highs.

Meanwhile, Treasuries have attracted increased interest, which has put the benchmark 10-year Note into positive territory. Though it is up just two ticks, it marks a solid improvement from its loss this afternoon, when it had traded some 10 ticks into the red.DJ30 +122.73 NASDAQ +26.76 SP500 +13.72 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1916/1.39 bln/779 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2291/640 mln/712

2:30 pm : Corporate headlines have been lacking this session, but Campbell Soup Co (CPB 34.51, +0.39) posted this morning adjusted earnings of $0.87 per share for its latest quarter. Analysts, on average, had expected the company to bring in $0.81 per share.

Tyson Foods (TSN 12.81, -0.26) reported adjusted earnings of $0.28 per share for its fiscal fourth quarter. That topped the consensus estimate by $0.02.

Due tonight are earnings results from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 50.88, +0.84), which is expected to bring in $1.13 per share, up from $1.03 per share in the same period one year ago. DJ30 +121.00 NASDAQ +25.65 SP500 +12.95 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1877/1.29 bln/790 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2292/594 mln/698

2:00 pm : The broader equity market continues to move sideways after steadying its descent from midmorning highs.

Energy stocks had been early leaders, but a pullback in oil prices has caused the sector to pare its position. Oil prices have pulled back $2 to trade at $77.90 per barrel, still up 0.5% for the session, though. The energy sector had been up as much as 2.9%, but is now trading with a 1.7% gain.

Though it is regarded as defensive, telecom is now the best performing sector. It is up 2.1%. Fellow defensive-oriented sectors consumer discretionary (+0.8%), health care (+0.9%), and utilities (+1.2%) are well behind.DJ30 +120.32 NASDAQ +26.87 SP500 +13.17 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1936/1.21 bln/736 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2339/551 mln/652

1:30 pm : A $44 billion auction of 2-year Treasuries drew a yield of 0.80% and a bid-to-cover ratio of 3.16, which is better than recent averages. Treasuries have modestly trimmed their losses in the wake of the announcement, so that the benchmark 10-year Note is now down five ticks. That puts its yield back below 3.4%.

As for stocks, the major indices have steadied their downward drift to enter into a sideways pattern. That has left stocks holding solid gains. DJ30 +123.14 NASDAQ +28.75 SP500 +14.51 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1986/1.12 bln/675 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2406/508 mln/580

1:00 pm : A weaker dollar has helped stocks rebound from three straight losses and even had the S&P 500 less than two points away from a new 2009 high. However, failure to push through that mark has left stocks to steadily drift from their session highs into the afternoon.

Buyers stepped back into action this morning as the U.S. dollar dropped markedly following comments from Chicago Fed President Evans that he thinks near zero interest rates will remain well into 2010, while St. Louis Fed President Bullard shared an interest in keeping the Fed's Mortgage-Backed Securities program active beyond the first quarter of 2010. The Dollar Index is off of its session low, but it is still down nearly 0.7%.

The dollar's drop has given a broad lift to stocks, which had been on their way to their best percentage gain in two weeks during early action. However, stocks stalled as they reached 2009 highs. Broader market support has kept all 10 major sectors up comfortably, though.

Energy has benefited most from broader market support, but higher oil prices in the wake of a weaker dollar have also helped. Oil was last quoted 1.0% higher at $78.25 per barrel; it had been up more than up 1.5% at its session high.

Gold prices continue to hold most of their gains, though. It is currently trading with a 1.8% gain at $1167.10 per ounce after it notched a new all-time high of $1174.00 per ounce.

Treasuries are under modest pressure this session. In turn, the benchmark 10-year Note is down nine ticks and yielding 3.4%. That puts the 2-10-year spread at roughly 265 basis points. Treasuries could see some volatility following imminent results from a $44 billion auction of 2-year notes.

Existing home sales for October were released this morning. Sales were up 10.1% month-over-month to an annualized rate of 6.10 million units, which is stronger than what many had come to expect. What's more, the increase in sales trimmed supply to its lowest level (7.0 months) since February 2007. DJ30 +124.70 NASDAQ +29.75 SP500 +15.06 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1993/1.02 bln/647 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2438/469 mln/533

12:30 pm : Though up a solid 0.8%, retailers are lagging the broader market as Sears Holdings (SHLD 71.80, -0.84), Macy's (M 16.88, -0.23), and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF 39.28, -0.45) fall into negative territory. Their slide comes ahead of Black Friday, which immediately follows the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and is typically one of the busiest days of the year for retailers.

Meanwhile, the broader market continues to gradually move lower. Its descent has been steady for the past two hours. DJ30 +116.69 NASDAQ +26.43 SP500 +13.64 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1982/932 mln/647 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2396/429 mln/566

12:00 pm : The major indices continue to drift off of their session highs, but gains are still healthy.

Treasuries are under modest pressure amid the buying effort. That has the benchmark 10-year Note down just a few ticks; its yield remains below 3.4%DJ30 +134.40 NASDAQ +30.79 SP500 +15.86 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2031/837 mln/586 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2444/385 mln/499

11:30 am : With oil prices up 2.7% to $79.55 per barrel, integrated oil companies like Exxon Mobil (XOM 75.82, +1.44) and Chevron (CVX 79.15, +2.38) have made their way to fresh multimonth highs. Oil well services and equipment outfits like Schlumberger (SLB 65.74, +2.40) and Transocean (RIG 86.48, +2.68) are also faring well.

Higher energy prices have also stimulated interest in shares of companies competing to create alternative energy. In turn, Canadian Solar (CSIQ 22.23, +1.22) has made its way to a new 52-week high this session. Trina Solar (TSL 45.00, +0.54) is also up solidly, but its 52-week high was set last week. DJ30 +146.24 NASDAQ +33.49 SP500 +17.45 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2045/722 mln/531 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2496/333 mln/421

11:00 am : All three major equity averages continue to trade with impressive gains, their best in two weeks, but they have recently eased off of their session highs. The modest pullback doesn't come as a result of any particular news item. Rather, stocks seem to be catching their breath after a sharp, upward run during the first hour of the session.

All 10 major sectors in the S&P 500 remain higher. Energy (+2.4%) continues to be the best performer.

Even traditionally defensive sectors are sporting impressive gains, though. Consumer discretionary stocks and health care stocks are up 1.2%, while utilities are up 1.7% and telecom is up 2.0%. AT&T (T 26.58, +0.56) is a primary leader among telecom stocks after its shares were mentioned positively in the latest issue of Barron's.DJ30 +152.59 NASDAQ +36.02 SP500 +17.97 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2064/607 mln/481 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2512/286 mln/370

10:30 am : The US Dollar Index has steadily trended lower in its overnight and morning session and is currently near today current lows, which has provided price support to most of the commodity complex. And currently, major commodities including crude oil, natural gas, gold and silver and trading just under session highs.

January crude oil, which just began trading today in place of the Dec contract, traded in a tight range overnight but began to gain momentum as the open of pit trading came closer. Crude extended its upward price momentum at the opening and pushed to morning highs of $79.92 per barrel. Currently, crude is trading 2.5% higher at $79.43 per barrel.

December natural gas is pulling back off of recently hit session highs of $4.58 per MMBtu. An hour before its recently hit highs, natural gas put in new lows at $4.467 before bouncing to its recent highs. In current action, natural gas is 2.8% higher at $4.546 per MMBtu.

Precious metals are also seeing price support on the weakness in the dollar. December gold recently hit new all-time highs, as well as new session highs, of $1174.00 per ounce and is currently trading just under those highs at $1171.00 per ounce, up 2.1%. December silver also hit its own fresh session highs of $18.935 per ounce and is currently up 2.1% at $18.83 per ounce.DJ30 +170.42 NASDAQ +40.51 SP500 +189.84 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2081/448.4 mln/419 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2538/216.8 mln/309

10:00 am : Gains remain broad-based as stocks make their way to fresh morning highs following the latest dose of economic data.

Existing home sales for October hit an annualized rate of 6.10 million units, which is well above the rate of 5.70 million that had been widely forecast. Month-over-month, existing home sales spiked 10.1% -- they were expected to climb 2.3% month-over-month. Revisions to the September's data translate to an annualized rate of 5.54 million units and a monthly increase of 8.8%.

Early movers: Trading up -- ABIO +40.4%, SEED +37.4%, FIF +35.8%, IBAS +32.3%, DDRX +25.2%, LDK +12.8%, ZION +11.2%, EXXI +9.1%, SCS +8.9%; Trading down -- GNV -23.8%, NYNY -15.3%, CEPH -7.9%, EDZ -7.3%, NLST -7.3%, PEET -7.2%, GGR -7%, TZA -6.8%, ERY -6.6%, DRV -6.5%, PARD -6.3%DJ30 +164.88 NASDAQ +38.08 SP500 +17.55 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2077/282 mln/339 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2511/143 mln/278

09:45 am : Stocks are putting together strong, broad-based gains in the early going. The move has already helped stocks completely erase their losses from the previous two sessions.

Energy is showing the most leadership at the moment. The sector is up 2.6% as broader market support and a 2.8% gain in oil prices to $79.60 per barrel fuel interest in its stocks.

Due shortly (10:00 AM ET) is the latest Existing Home Sales Report.DJ30 +145.56 NASDAQ +36.49 SP500 +18.43 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 2079/167 mln/286 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2472/97 mln/253

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +13.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +19.00.  Premarket participants remain focused on the U.S. dollar in the absence of any major corporate headlines. With the Dollar Index still under some stiff pressure, down some 0.7% amid comments from Chicago Fed President Evans and St. Louis Fed President Bullard, stock futures still sport solid gains and suggest a strong start for the major indices. Commodities futures prices are also garnering support, which has sent both energy prices and precious metals prices higher. In particular, gold is up 1.7% to $1165.70 per ounce. It set a new record high near $1167.80 per ounce in recent trade. The overall tone this morning remains positive, but participants await a couple of potential catalysts, namely existing home sales results for October (10:00 AM ET) and results from the latest auction of 2-year Treasuries (1:00 PM ET).

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +11.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.30.  Though a bit off of their morning highs, stock futures continue to sport a strong lead over fair value. Commodities are also garnering support as gold prices climb 1.5% to a new record high of $1164.40 per ounce. Oil prices are up 1.7% to $78.75 per barrel in the first few minutes of pit trade. Separately, the Baltic Dry Index declined for the second straight session after it had put in a 17-day streak of gains. Following a 3.3% decline Friday, the index fell 1.9% overnight.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +10.40. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +14.80.  Europe's major indices are up solidly. The gains come amid news that the euro-zone economy saw its composite purchasing managers index hit a two-year high in November by coming in at 53.7. In Germany, the country's purchasing managers index advanced to 52.0 in November from 51.0 in October, while the PMI for the services sector picked up to 51.5 from 50.7. The data were stronger than expected, according to reports. Germany's DAX is currently up 1.5% with Siemens (SI) acting as a primary leader. In France, the CAC is up 1.7%. Energy giant Total (TOT) is a primary leader at the moment. Danone, Alcatel-Lucent, and STMicroelectronics are the only three names in the 40-member index to trade with a loss. In Britain, the FTSE is up 1.5%. Global banking giant HSBC (HBC) is providing key support. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 1.4%. Financials jumped amid optimism that Beijing will extend its loose monetary policy until next year. Meanwhile, metals stocks gained after gold prices gained further ground. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite closed 0.9% higher. Auto shares found support after bullish comments were made from the Guangzhou Autoshow. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 1.0% Monday, but Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +11.00. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.30.  The U.S. dollar remains a primary catalyst for trading in the absence of many major announcements. With the greenback down 0.7% against a basket of major foreign currencies after Chicago Fed Evans mentioned in an Financial Times interview that he thinks interest rates will remain near zero easily into 2010, stock futures have taken a commanding lead over fair value. Solid gains among overseas markets are helping support the generally positive premarket posture, too. Buying among foreign participants follows a flurry of positive headlines. Overall action this week is likely to be queit with Thanksgiving coming on Thursday, but there will still be the occasional catalyst. For instance, existing home sales results for October are due at 10:00 AM ET. Results from the latest auction of 2-year Treasuries are due at 1:00 PM ET.

06:25 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +10.90. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.80.  

06:25 am : Nikkei...Holiday......... Hang Seng...22771.69...+315.60...+1.40%.

06:25 am : FTSE...5346.69...+89.20...+1.70%. DAX...5749.57...+86.00...+1.50%.