Apple and Amazon push S&P 500 over 1 percent higher

By Noel Randewich

(Reuters) - Wall Street surged on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 into a small gain for the year as Amazon and Apple led tech stocks higher and recovering crude prices bolstered energy shares.

Chevron rose 1.37 percent, helping push the S&P energy sector <.SPNY> up 0.89 percent after oil prices edged up on the prospects of colder weather in Europe and North America, raising hopes of a short-term uptick in the tepid demand that has plagued the commodity this year. [O/R]

Following a recent selloff over concerns about potentially weak iPhone sales, Apple jumped 2.3 percent and was the biggest influence on the S&P and Nasdaq.

Amazon climbed 2.8 percent and hit a life high of $694.95. The online retailer recorded more than 3 million new Prime memberships in the third week of December, indicating strong holiday demand.

"Tech stocks, and some healthcare stocks, can deliver top-line growth in a situation where a lot of other companies have to generate earnings through cost-cutting or share buybacks. What you're seeing there is a bid for growth," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

Data on Tuesday indicated consumer sentiment was improving, with the Conference Board's index of consumer confidence for December up at 96.5, beating the 93.8 expected.

At 2:24 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.18 percent at 17,735.26, while the S&P 500 gained 1.11 percent to 2,079.29.

The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.38 percent to 5,110.65.

All 10 major S&P sectors were higher, led by a 1.52 percent rise in the tech sector <.SPLRCT>.

For 2015, the S&P 500 was up almost 1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite was up almost 8 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average, however, was down about 0.5 percent for the year.

Trading volumes are expected to remain thin this week as the year winds down.

Pep Boys rose 8 percent after the auto parts retailer's board found Carl Icahn's latest offer superior to the deal it accepted from Japan's Bridgestone .

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 2,214 to 813. On the Nasdaq, 1,895 issues rose and 908 fell.

The S&P 500 index showed 26 new 52-week highs and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 70 new highs and 36 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Abhiram Nandakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Nick Zieminski)