Wall Street edges up slightly as oil prices rise

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose slightly on Tuesday, bouncing back partially from the previous day's decline as higher oil prices helped energy shares, but the dollar slipped on global economic concerns.

Crude oil prices jumped more than 3 percent as bulls ramped up bets across the oil complex for another weekly drop in U.S. stockpiles. [O/R]

The higher crude prices pushed up energy stocks, and financial shares gained as some investors bet the U.S. Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at some point this year even though exact timing for a hike has been hard to predict. Financial services companies would benefit from higher interest rates.

"People are sick of timing the Fed when it comes to this sector. They don't want to miss the boat," said Andrew Frankel, co-president of Stuart Frankel & Co in New York, regarding the rise in the S&P 500's financial sector <.SPSY>.

U.S. and European stocks were held back by concerns about China's economic growth and uncertainty around Greece's debt negotiations.

China reported inflation data that suggested the world's second-biggest economy was still struggling, even through Beijing is expected to add more policy stimulus.

On top of this, concerns about a lack of progress in talks between Greece and its creditors weighed on shares in Europe and the United States, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

European Union officials on Tuesday swiftly dismissed new Greek promises of economic reform, saying the proposals were not enough to unlock funds that Athens urgently needs to avoid defaulting on its debts.

At 2:37 p.m. the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 30.13 points, or 0.17 percent, to 17,796.68, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 4.24 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,083.52 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 0.70 points, or 0.01 percent, to 5,022.33.

In its sixth straight day of losses, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> ended down 0.5 percent, making for its lowest close since Feb 19. The MSCI all world stock index <.MIWD00000PUS> was up 0.08 percent.

The euro was flat against the dollar but the U.S. currency was down 0.2 percent against a basket of currencies <.DXY> as investors were wary of global economic weakness.

"The U.S. is the cleanest shirt in a dirty laundry. That's why the dollar has been strong and we can talk about raising interest rates," said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. "But unless the global economy turns around it's going to be hard for the U.S. to remain that clean."

U.S. Treasuries yields rose on Tuesday with benchmark yields reaching seven-month highs as investors reduced their bond holdings to make room for this week's flood of debt supply, including $24 billion in three-year government notes.

"The theme du jour is supply which is expected to accelerate this week," said Ed Atkins, Treasury strategist at RBS Securities in Stamford, Connecticut.

Brent crude settled up $2.19 a barrel, or 3.5 percent, at $64.88, and U.S. crude settled up 3.44 percent, or $2 a barrel, at $60.14.

(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag, Atul Prakash, Alistair Smout in London, and by Wayne Cole in Sydney, Richard Leong in New York; Editing by Catherine Evans and Meredith Mazzilli)

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