Energy lifts Wall St. for third straight day

© Reuters. The Wall Street sign is seen outside the New York Stock Exchange

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street rallied for the third straight session on Wednesday, propelled by sharp gains in energy stocks as a rebound in oil prices boosted sentiment heading into the Christmas holiday.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) rose 184.8 points, or 1.06 percent, to 17,602.07, the S&P 500 (SPX) gained 25.31 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,064.28 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) added 44.82 points, or 0.9 percent, to 5,045.93.