Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve and possible additional steps to bolster the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader George Ettinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve and possible additional steps to bolster the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders Fady Tanios, left, and Mario Innella work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve and possible additional steps to bolster the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Frederick Reimer, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. Stocks opened higher Tuesday ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve and possible additional steps to bolster the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Warren Meyers works at the post that handles HSBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012. HSBC, the British banking giant, will pay $1.9 billion to settle a money-laundering probe by federal and state authorities in the United States. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK — Stocks rose for a fifth straight day Tuesday as investors latched on to reports of progress in budget talks in Washington. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index had its biggest gain this month. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 78.56 points to …
