Share prices rose on Wall Street overnight as oil prices fell.

The Dow Jones industrial index gained 68.72 points to close at 12,548.35.

Oil futures fell $US3.58 a barrel, to $US128.61.

As that happened, the S&P500 index rose 9.42 points to 1,385.35.

And the tech heavy NASDAQ composite index jumped 36.57 points to 2,481.24.

But there was bad news in the US overnight, too.

Consumer confidence, for example, fell as house prices showed no clear sign of recovery.

The NASDAQ was boosted amid speculation about Microsoft’s plans to take over the internet giant, Yahoo.

Trading on Wall Street was heavy, with the volume of sales topping 1.1 billion.

The day’s optimism was also reflected in the direction of individual sales.

Advancing stocks outnumbered retreating ones by almost 2 to 1.

The heaviest trade, on the day, was in the high tech sector.