U.S. Stocks Climb on Higher Oil Inventory By Anupama Chandrasekaran NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks held solid gains on Wednesday afternoon as investors welcomed a sharp drop in oil prices after an unexpected rise in crude inventories last week, helping to ease worries about lower corporate profits. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) futures slid $1.61 to $44.15 a barrel. Lower crude prices are beneficial to stocks as lofty oil prices shrink corporate profits due to higher energy costs. Increased oil costs also curbs consumer spending. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 40.11 points, or 0.38 percent, at 10,799.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.50 points, or 0.29 percent, at 1,208.95. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.10 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,155.01. Trading was heavy, with more than 680 million shares changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange by late morning. More than 930 million shares were traded on Nasdaq. The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 indexes continued their rallies, hitting intra-day highs for the year. "Clearly the crude oil inventory data has moved the markets today. Last week we had a rally in crude oil prices, which made people worry that the inventory data might be weak and push oil prices up, weakening the economy," said Ken Tower, chief market analyst at Cybertrader. The Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude stocks rose last week by 2.1 million barrels and distillate inventories rose 600,000 barrels. Analysts surveyed by Reuters expected both stockpiles to fall. Heating oil stocks were steady. In corporate action, Fannie Mae <FNM.N rose almost 3 percent to $72.24. The chief executive and chief financial officer of the U.S. mortgage finance giant stepped down late on Tuesday after regulators exposed accounting errors that are expected to force a massive earnings restatement. Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 1.2 percent to $60.13. Smith Barney raised its estimates for Starbucks' 2005 earnings per share and December and January same-store sales. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy grew at a slightly stronger rate than expected in the third quarter, with gross domestic product expanding at a 4 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday. Quelle "U.S. Stocks Climb on Higher Oil Inventory" : reuters.com Main page for "U.S. Stocks Climb on Higher Oil Inventory"