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Stocks Push Higher in Light Trading - CNNMoney.com -- Stocks rose for a third day Tuesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending just below 14-month highs, after two economic reports continued to fuel optimism about the economy in a thin trading session.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 51 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 index rose 4 points, or 0.3%. Both gauges are near their highest levels since October 2008. The S&P 500 briefly traded above its 14-month high during the session. The Nasdaq composite, advanced 12 points, or 0.5%, to close at its highest level since September 2008.

Oil recovered from earlier losses to close above $74. Gold continued to fall as the dollar firmed against rival currencies. Bond prices rose.

Stocks opened on an upbeat note after a government report showed the economy grew in the third quarter, although at a more tepid pace than forecast. The advance gained steam after an industry report showed sales of existing homes rose in November to the highest level in three years. But stocks settled into a narrow range during the afternoon amid a lack of market moving news

Existing Home Sales Surge in November - In last month's report, existing-home sales surged 10.1 percent to an annual rate of 6.10 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September. Sales activity is at the highest pace since February 2007 when it hit 6.55 million. Total housing inventory at the end of October fell 3.7 percent to 3.57 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.0-month supply at the current sales pace, less than the revised for the worse 8.0-month supply which was reported in September. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $173,100 in October, down 7.1 percent from October 2008. In November, the NAR reports that sales of previously owned homes rose 7.4% to an annual rate of 6.54 million sales. Single family homes led the overall index higher, recording an uptick from 5.32 million sales to 5.77 million annual sales. While single family unit sales were up 8.5%, Condo sales were unchanged from last month's print. Also, both metrics improved at a slower pace than the October/September month over month gains.