U.S. stocks are rising moderately on the final day of 2014, keeping the market on track for its sixth consecutive year of gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 18,028 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose two points, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,082 and the Nasdaq composite gained 17 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 4,795.
In Europe, Britain's FTSE was up 0.3 per cent and France's CAC 40 was up 0.6 per cent.
Energy stocks sank as the price of oil fell again. U.S. crude fell $1.07 to $53.05 a barrel. Oil has fallen 50 per cent since June.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.18 per cent.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.