* Stocks higher as oil price falls, MBIA gains
* Big-cap tech up; Nasdaq rises 1 percent,
(Updates to midday, changes byline)
By Cal Mankowski
NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as
the price of oil fell below $125 per barrel and financial
shares, including bond insurer MBIA Inc <MBI.N>, rallied.
Investors also snapped up big-cap technology shares,
driving the Nasdaq up more than 1 percent, on hopes that the
U.S. economy may not be in the worst shape. Shares of Research
In Motion Ltd <RIM.TO><RIMM.O> jumped 6.8 percent to $141.71
on optimism about its new BlackBerry Bold smartphone.
Oil prices slipped from record highs set last week as the
dollar approached a two-month peak before slipping against the
euro.
Stocks also received a boost after Citigroup raised its
price target on Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>, the world's
largest retailer.
MBIA, which reported a quarterly loss, said new business
volume appears to be rising in the current quarter.
"If the dollar continues to rally and the price of oil
declines, as some, including myself, expect, that could
provide a very positive outcome for the markets, but nobody is
willing to bet a lot on it," said Hugh Johnson, chief
investment officer at Johnson Illington Advisors in Albany,
New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 111.38
points, or 0.87 percent, to 12,857.26. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 10.10 points, or 0.73 percent, to
1,398.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> climbed 31.65
points, or 1.29 percent, to 2,477.17.
Johnson said that for now, there is a division of opinion
in the market, with many participants convinced the U.S.
economy will recover in the second half of 2008 and others
worried that a recovery will be derailed.
MBIA shares rose 5.5 percent to $9.94.
Financial shares also got a lift from
stronger-than-expected first-quarter results from HSBC
<HSBA.L>, Europe's largest bank, which eased concerns about
the banking sector. HSBC said growth in Asia and elsewhere
helped counter a hit from its exposure to U.S. home loans.
Wal-Mart rose 1.7 percent to $58.15 after Citigroup raised
its price target for the stock, saying international growth
should help offset weakness in the United States.
Among tech gainers, International Business Machines Corp
<IBM.N> rose 1.3 percent to $125.63 and was among the biggest
contributors to the rise in the Dow.
The price of crude <CLM8> fell $1.16 to below $125 per
barrel.
(Reporting by Cal Mankowski; Editing by Jan Paschal)
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Keywords: MARKETS STOCKS