A sharp drop in oil prices helped Wall Street extend its rally for a third straight session today, with strong earnings from Hewlett-Packard also giving stocks a modest lift.

Upbeat reports from the Federal Reserve and DuPont lifted US stocks for a second day in a row today, pushing the Standard & Poor’s 500 past 1,300 for the first time since May 2001.

Oil worries and a raft of economic uncertainties plagued Wall Street today, sending stocks lower as investors collected profits after the strong gains of the previous two sessions.