Final Hour Mars Data-Driven Rally

With evidence that wage growth remains absent and productivity still strong, the stock market was able to take crude oil near $60 in stride Tuesday. But the early celebration was tempered by a sharp pullback in the final hour of trading.

Major averages rallied steadily until around 3 p.m. EST on news that productivity had improved while labor costs went down in the third quarter. Productivity improved 4.7% quarter on quarter, while unit labor costs were revised down from minus 0.5% to minus 1.0%.

The news helped stocks digest further gains in energy prices, as cold weather continues to take hold of the Northeast. Crude oil reached an intraday high of $60.76 per barrel before settling at $59.94, for a daily gain of 3 cents.

Based on the premise that improved productivity is good for profits and tame wage growth will keep the Federal Reserve from more aggressive rate hikes, the data helped bulls Tuesday, until the stock market hit an air pocket in the final hour of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 100 points to an intraday high of 10,936, before stumbling in the final hour to close up 21 points, or 0.2%, at 10,856.

Following a similar pattern, the S&P 500 closed up 1.61 points, or 0.13% to 1263 vs. its intraday high of 1272, while the Nasdaq Composite finished up 3.12 points, or 0.14%, at 2260.76, well off its intraday high of 2278.

"At the end of the tape, we can see it's going to take a larger catalyst to work our way higher," Art Hogan, chief market analyst with Jefferies, told TheStreet.com. "We're going to be on a roller coaster until the Fed's meeting next week. Every piece of inflationary data will be watched very closely, and that backdrop makes it hard for equities to remain strong and hold gains."