US stock market indexes edge higher on last trading day of 2014; Oil price resumes its slide

FILE - In this Thursday, July 3, 2014, file photo, specialist Jay Woods is reflected in a screen at his post that shows five years of the Dow Jones industrial average, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Even after a poor start in January and a big wobble in October, the market climbed double digits. The solid gain pushed the bull-run for stocks into its sixth year, the longest since the 1990s. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) (The Associated Press)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks are rising moderately on the final day of 2014, keeping the market on track for its sixth consecutive year of gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 18,028 as of 11:45 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose two points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,082 and the Nasdaq composite gained 17 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,795.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE was up 0.3 percent and France's CAC 40 was up 0.6 percent.

Energy stocks sank as the price of oil fell again. U.S. crude fell $1.07 to $53.05 a barrel. Oil has fallen 50 percent since June.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.18 percent.