Stocks mostly gain as oil hits high for the year, Home Depot issues upbeat earnings forecast

Stocks mostly rise on oil, Home Depot forecast

NEW YORK — Stocks are again getting a lift from commodity prices.

Most stocks rose Wednesday as the price of oil touched a new high for the year above $71 a barrel and prices for metals and other materials pushed higher.

Commodity prices have been rising in recent days, reflecting hopes that economic activity will improve and boost the appetite for basic materials. Weakness in the dollar has also pushed prices higher, because commodities are priced in the greenback.

Virginia Dawson, chief executive of Claremont Investment Partners, in Summit, N.J., said a recent influx of money from hedge funds has likely helped to drive commodity prices. That, in turn, has helped energy companies’ stocks.

Investors are also cheering comments from Home Depot Inc., which said its full-year earnings may come in better than forecast.

In the first half-hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 3.84, or 0.4 percent, to 946.27. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3.84, or 0.4 percent, to 946.27, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.70, or 0.1 percent, to 1,858.43.