US STOCKS-Wall St up as oil lifts Exxon, Wal-Mart beats

(Updates to midday, changes byline)

By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK, Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday as crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies including Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), while Wal-Mart Stores Inc's (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) stronger-than-expected profit buoyed hopes about consumer spending.

Exxon shares rose more than 2 percent on the New York Stock Exchange while those of Chevron Corp (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) climbed almost 2 percent after the oil company debuted on the Dow Jones industrial average. Wal-Mart shares inched up 1.5 percent.

"You've had a big move in oil over the last few days. We're almost back to $100 a barrel and that's what drives most things up," said Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive, San Francisco-based investment bank Pacific Growth Equities.

"Wal-Mart wasn't a disaster. It was moderately good news."

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 76.44 points, or 0.62 percent, at 12,424.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 7.72 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,357.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 10.24 points, or 0.44 percent, at 2,332.04.

Exxon shares rose to $87.46, while Chevron climbed to $85.03. The stocks were the two biggest boosters to the Dow and S&P 500 indexes. Wal-Mart shares rose to $50.18.

U.S. crude for March delivery CLc1 jumped sharply above $98 a barrel on supply concerns following Monday's Texas refinery fire, a weak dollar, concerns about supply from Venezuela, Nigeria and Russia and expectations that OPEC will not increase production at its March meeting.