US stocks gain as oil prices rally

US stocks opened higher Tuesday, joining global equities in rallying on an upward move in oil prices.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,683.69, up 155.42 points (0.89 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 16.10 (0.78 percent) to 2,072.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 33.09 (0.66 percent) to 5,074.08.

Global stocks have been volatile for much of December, in part due to unpredictable swings in oil prices and other commodities. On Tuesday, bourses in Paris and Frankfurt rose by more than 1.5 percent on higher oil prices.

US housing prices in the 20 biggest markets rose 0.8 percent in October from the prior month, according to the S&P/Case Shiller price index.