YAHOO [BRIEFING.COM]: Stocks managed to post a strong gain after a solid e-commerce sales report and encouraging news out of the financial sector helped offset dour private employment and services industry economic reports.

Trade was volatile, as has been the case of late. Stocks quickly recovered from opening losses, only to fall back into the red shortly before 2:00 PM ET. Then, a surge in buying interest sent the S&P 500 to a 2.6% gain to settle at session highs.

The Fed's Beige Book, a collection of anecdotal economic information, painted a bleak economic picture, which was widely expected. The small portion of good news -- the Philadelphia Fed said it saw loan volumes rise and the Dallas Fed said the government's capital investments have helped larger institutions feel less constrained in their lending -- helped the financial sector (+5.6%) lift the market out of the red and lead a late-session rally.

Homebuilders (+11.0%) exhibited strength on signs that the government's plan to utilize up to $500 billion to support the mortgage market is having a positive effect. The 30-year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 5.65% yesterday, according Bankrate.com, and the Mortgage Bankers Association said that mortgage applications rose by a record 112% last week.

Retailers (+6.3%) outperformed throughout the session. Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 45.20, +4.01) spiked after comScore said e-commerce spending jumped 15% on Cyber Monday to $846 million, which marks the second highest online spending day on record. The four-day period from Black Friday to Cyber Monday saw e-commerce spending increase 13%. Since the start of November, $12.0 billion has been spent online, which is a 2% year-over-year decline, according to comScore.

In economic news, ADP reported that private nonfarm employment decreased 250,000 in November, which follows a downwardly revised reading of -179,000 in October. This was worse than the expected decline of 205,000. The ADP report has had a spotty record compared to the government's employment report. The government data, set for release on Friday, include both nonfarm private and public employment and is expected to show a decrease of 325,000 jobs.

November ISM services, a national nonmanufacturing survey, dropped to 37.3 from October's reading of 44.4. This marks the lowest level since the report started in 1997 and is well below the expected reading of 42.0. A number below 50 indicates contraction in the services industry.

In commodity trading, crude oil futures fell 0.2% to $46.86 per barrel despite the government's weekly energy report showing unexpected declines in both crude and gasoline stockpiles.

The S&P 500 has now gained in seven of the last eight sessions and is up 17.50% from its multi-year low reached on Nov. 21.DJ30 +172.60 NASDAQ +42.58 NQ100 +3.2% R2K +2.7% SP400 +2.5% SP500 +21.93 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1075/1669/2.28 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1048/2084/1.55 bln