Wall Street stocks rise

Wall Street extended its fourth-quarter rally into a second day, supported by falling oil prices and a bullish assessment of the economy from a Federal Reserve official.

Investors were cheered by a dip in oil prices, which backed off the 50 dollar per barrel mark at Friday’s close of trading. A barrel of light crude closed at 49.91 dollars, down 21 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.