US Stocks finished mostly higher Tuesday as energy companies climbed in tandem with the price of oil, but technology companies fell.

    The Dow Jones industrial average added 13.08 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,990.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.91 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,091.70.  The Nasdaq fell 7.50 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,888.28. 

    Meanwhile, benchmark US crude oil rose 44 cents to $44.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $1.40, or 3.3 percent, to $44.04 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 48 cents to $46.22.

    In currencies, the euro rose to $1.1300 from $1.1297 on Tuesday. The dollar fell to 111.09 yen from 111.32 yen.