Stocks Hop, Oil Leaps

Stocks turned upward at the open today, as traders hunted for bargains and signs of a recovery. The Dow rose 80 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq climbed 1% and 0.9% respectively. Oil, meanwhile, jumped $1.22 to $50.03 as a dispute between Gazprom and the Ukraine threatened the supply of gas from Russia to Europe.

A raft of economic data is due today, including November factory orders, along with the Federal Reserve’s minutes, which “will be of particular interest,” one economist said, “in light of the Committee’s decision to embark on a campaign of quantitative easing.” The dollar gained against both the euro and the yen, and Treasury prices took a steep dip. (More New York Stock Exchange stories.)