By Kate Gibson

U.S. stocks turned mostly higher on Monday after automakers said December sales, though poor, were not as awful as expected.

After closing at an eight-week high Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was lower but scaled back its descent, most recently down 17.04 points to 9,017.65.

Half of the Dow's 30 components remained mired in the red, with Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) fronting the declines, its shares lately off 7.4% in the wake of its downgrade by Bernstein Research.

Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) also slumped, down 4% after Deutsche Bank cut its estimates on the bank. .

The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 4.19 points to 935.99, with energy, consumer discretionary and materials leading the advance that included all but two of the index's 10 industry groups.

Smith International Inc. (SII) and Peabody Energy Group Corp. (BTU) fronted gains among energy companies, both rising about 11%.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) declined 7.55 points to 1,639.76, with tech stocks dipping even as Apple Inc. shares rose after CEO Steve Jobs acknowledged health problems but said he would stay on as the company's chief executive. .

Shares of Apple Inc. (AAPL) gained 5.7% after Jobs said he is undergoing treatment for a hormone imbalance that has caused him to lose weight. Jobs made his comments in an open letter to the Apple community. .

On Capitol Hill, President-elect Barack Obama plans to meet Monday with congressional leaders of both parties as he tries to shore up support for his economic-stimulus package and about $300 billion in tax cuts. .

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange neared 697 million, and advancing issues overtook those declining more than 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, 387 million shares traded, and advancers topped decliners about 3 to 1.

Driven

End-of-the-year results from the auto industry proved dismal, but investors expected worse. Shares of Ford Motor Co. (F) gained 4.9% after it reported a 32.4% drop in December sales; General Motors Corp. (GM) rose 4.4% after GM said sales fell 31% last month.

"This is good news in the sense that it suggest the industry may finally be stabilizing after hemorrhaging for much of this year," said analysts at Action Economics.

Economic data were also Less grim than anticipated, with the Commerce Department reporting that construction spending fell 0.6% in November.

J.P. Morgan raised its rating on Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to overweight from neutral. Shares of the online retailer were off 1%.

Oil futures gained more than 4% on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with the contract for February delivery up $2.12 to $48.46 a barrel.

Elsewhere on the NYME, gold futures closed down $21.7, or 2.5%, at $857.8 an ounce.

The dollar index (DXY), a measure of the greenback against rival currencies, held steady at 82.654, up 1%. .

Treasury prices were mixed after the Federal Reserve said it had begun buying mortgage-backed securities. .

Overseas, Asian markets shot higher, with Japanese stocks taking the lead.

European shares also gained, with telecom, utility and oil equities among the strongest performers. .

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