Stocks rose as investors bet on at least a short-term fix to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. On the economic front, pending home sales rose 5.2% in October, illustrating ongoing recovery in the housing market, U.S. economy expanded 2.7%, more than 2.0% growth initially projected. Separately, initial jobless claims declined by 23,000 to 393,000 last week, with the decline not as much as expected. Walt Disney climbed 1.1% after the co. hiked its dividend. Tech stocks were modestly higher, propelled by gains in Research In Motion, Advanced Micro Devices and Apple. Apple gained 1.1% on news that the iPhone 5 has received regulatory approval in China. Research In Motion rose 3.9% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy on potential gains from the handset-maker’s BlackBerry 10 operating system, which is expected to launch early next year. AMD jumped 4.1% after the co. announced that it is looking to sell its Austin, Texas campus and hopes to enter into a leaseback deal that would allow the company to maintain operations on the property. Microsoft lost 1.5% after the NPD Group reported that Windows 8 sales were off to a slow start. In the evening trade Zynga tumbled 10% after a regulatory filing outlined company changes with Facebook, among them that Facebook will be able to develop its own games.
