By WORTH CIVILS, (WSJ)
Stocks edged higher Tuesday as traders weighed higher crude-oil prices and a slow trading week ahead of Thanksgiving. But the sprinkling of earnings and other data Wall Street did see could offer a holiday-shopping preview.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 5.05 to 12321.59, helped by Verizon Communications, which rose 1.3% on an upgrade by Credit Suisse. Fellow components Caterpillar rose 2.1% and Exxon Mobil gained 1.3%. But General Motors slumped 4.6% on top of Monday's 3.4% loss, and Intel sank 3.1%.

"Things are just holding firm right now," said Michael Pento, senior market strategist at Delta Global Advisors. "We've had a huge momentum rally, fed by lower energy prices," as well as expectations that the Federal Reserve is going to ease interest rates soon. "Investors are right to show caution," Mr. Pento said. "Once the Fed eases, I'll revert back to my normal bullishness."

*The excerpt above ran in the "Market Beat" column. WSJ.com subscribers can access the full article by clicking here.