US STOCKS-Energy, Fannie Mae, tech boost Wall Street

NEW YORK, May 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as record crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies including Exxon Mobil Corp , while Fannie Mae's reassuring comments about the home financier's stability buoyed shares of financial services companies.

Technology shares rose on speculation that Microsoft Corp , up 1.5 percent, and Yahoo Inc , up almost 6 percent, will resume takeover talks.

"Last week the story was that the dollar put in a base and commodities were topping," said Sasha Kostadinov, portfolio manager and research analyst at Shaker Investments in Cleveland, Ohio.

"Today, anybody who thought commodities were topping certainly has some explaining to do. We've had some earnings reports in the energy space and not surprisingly those were good reports. Energy stocks are driving the market today."

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 26.21 points, or 0.20 percent, to 12,995.75. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 7.17 points, or 0.51 percent, to 1,414.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index shot up 13.23 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,477.35.

Energy shares rose after U.S. crude oil hit a record above $122 a barrel. A stronger-than-expected profit from independent oil and gas company Anadarko Petroleum Corp also buoyed the energy sector, with the stock up almost 8 percent and Exxon shares up nearly 1 percent.

Exxon Mobil shares rose to $90.22, while ConocoPhillips climbed 2 percent to $86.86 on the New York Stock Exchange. Chevron Corp's shares were up 0.9 percent at $96.52, while Anadarko shares climbed to $73.89.

Shares of oil services company Schlumberger Ltd jumped 2.1 percent to $103.66. The oil index shot up 3.2 percent.

Fannie Mae shares climbed 5.6 percent to $29.86 on the NYSE. Before the opening bell, Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. home financing, reported a net $2.5 billion loss and said it sees significant credit losses into 2009. The company also cut its dividend.

Shares of Fannie Mae and its smaller rival, Freddie Mac , started the session sharply lower but changed course to post strong gains as Fannie Mae executives said in a conference call the capital that the company raises would enable it to keep expanding its portfolio. For details, see [ID:nN06483354]

Microsoft Corp and Yahoo Inc were both among the Nasdaq's top five advancers as speculation continued that pressure from Yahoo's shareholders would revive takeover talks. Shares of Microsoft, which abandoned its bid for Yahoo at the weekend, rose 1.7 percent to $29.58 while Yahoo jumped 5 percent to $25.58.

But higher energy costs threatened to crimp consumer spending. Wal-Mart Stores Inc , the world's biggest retailer, was the Dow's top drag, down 1.2 percent at $56.30. (Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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