Wall Street higher as oil further declines

NEW YORK, July 8 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street saw another choppy session and moved slightly higher Tuesday as oil extended Monday's losses.

Light, sweet crude fell 5.66 U.S. dollars to 135.71 dollars a barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after falling about four dollars a barrel in the previous session.

In addition, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank may extend securities dealers' access to direct loans into 2009. But investors still worried about the tight credit markets and deteriorating lending conditions.

Meanwhile, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that pending sales of U.S. homes fell by 4.7 percent in May from the previous month, slumping more than forecast.

The Dow Jones rose 31.10 to 11,263.06. Broader indexes also moved higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 1.33 to 1,253.64 and the Nasdaq climbed 9.32 to 2,252.64.