US STOCKS-Year-end M&A action keeps indexes aloft

U.S. stocks rose in light trading on Tuesday, rebounding from the
previous session's fall, as a smattering of mergers-and-acquisition
news helped stir some demand during what is historically a positive
week for stocks.

Shares of miners Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and Phelps Dodge Corp. climbed after U.S. antitrust authorities said they approved Freeport's bid to buy Phelps Dodge. For details, see [nN26386551]

The stock of Internet networking company Savvis Inc. rose 2.5 percent after telecommunications services provider Level 3 Communications Inc. said it planned to acquire Savvis' content delivery network assets.

Major
indexes held onto moderate gains despite early reports of sluggish U.S.
holiday sales. Retailers can only record revenue from gift cards when
the cards are redeemed, so part of Christmas sales may be logged after
the holiday. The Standard & Poor's retail index <.RLX> was
down 0.3 percent