NYSE Euronextwas the S&P 500's biggest gainer, surging 34 percent to $32.25 after IntercontinentalExchange Incsaid it would buy the operator of the New York Stock Exchange for $8.2 billion.

ICE shares shot up 1.4 percent to $130.10.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives pushed ahead with their own plan to avoid a series of steep tax hikes and spending cuts due in early 2013, complicating negotiations with the White House. Obama has vowed to veto the plan.

Investors have hoped for an agreement soon between policymakers, but progress has been slow. Boehner said he expected to continue to work with Obama, but repeated his charge that the president and Senate Democrats were trying to "slow walk" the country over the fiscal cliff.

"Speaker Boehner went on the air and basically told us he doesn't like what the president's doing or not doing, and the markets rallied on that, which was kind of weird," said Stephen Guilfoyle, a trader at Meridian Equity Partners, in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial averagegained 59.75 points, or 0.45 percent, to 13,311.72 at the close. The S&P 500rose 7.88 points, or 0.55 percent, to 1,443.69. The Nasdaq Compositeclimbed 6.02 points, or 0.20 percent, to 3,050.39.

Stocks rallied earlier in the week on signs of progress in the fiscal cliff negotiations. But with the S&P 500 up 14.8 percent so far this year, investors are taking the opportunity to engage in some hedging as 2012 comes to a close.

Herbalifelost 9.6 percent to $33.74 following news that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman was betting against the company as part of his big end-of-the-year short.

The S&P Financial Indexgained 1.4 percent.

The U.S. economy grew 3.1 percent in the third quarter, faster than previously estimated, while the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rose more than expected in the latest week.

Existing home sales jumped 5.9 percent in November, more than expected, and by the fastest monthly pace in three years. An index of housing sharesgained 0.78 percent.

But KB Homeslid 6.4 percent to $15.60 as the company reported higher homebuilding costs and expenses in the fourth quarter.

About 6.4 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT, roughly in line with the daily average so far this year of about 6.46 billion shares.

On the NYSE, advancers outnumbered decliners by a ratio of about 2 to 1. On the Nasdaq, five stocks rose for every three that fell.

(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)

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Strauss-Kahn's lawyers had asked for the dismissal in the hopes ofto the sexually-related legal problems that had forced him to resign from his position as head of the International Monetary Fund and scuttled any talk of him becoming the next president of France. Back in October,prosecutors following an accusation of rape that emerged from a different "libertine" party at a hotel in Washington, DC.Earlier this month, he also brought by the maid who had accused him of raping her in a New York hotel room. In that case, criminal charges were dropped by New York prosecutors who said that there were too many inconsistencies inthewoman's story. Today's decision leaves only the "aggravated pimping" charge as his last remaining legal challenge.

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It was that claim from the New York hotel maid that first pushed DSK'slasciviouslifestyle in the spotlight (and effectively ended his political career), but so far no criminal charges have actually stuck to him.

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But the Federal Trade Commission is not expected to reach a deal soon on the larger, more contentious issue of whether Google tweaks its search results to disadvantage rivals in travel, shopping and other specialized searches.

Its rivals say Google fears the specialized sites will siphon away its most lucrative advertising and the revenue that goes with it.

Under the expected settlement, which could be announced this week or next, Google will be required to drop demands for injunctions in lawsuits filed using a special class of patents called standard essential patents, or SEPs, the sources said.

SEPs ensure, for example, that one brand of wireless phone can call another brand.

There would be an exception to the injunction ban, however. Google would be allowed to request injunctions if companies refuse to negotiate SEP licensing at all, the sources said.

SEPs are usually expected to be broadly licensed for a reasonable price. One view is that if a company convinces a standard-setting organization to name its patent as the standard, that company should be barred from asking for an injunction if there is infringement.

The larger investigation, which is more than a year old, addresses search bias as well as smaller items that aggravate Google's rivals in Silicon Valley and beyond.

These include taking data, such as hotel reviews, from non-Google web sites to use on Google products, and preventing the export of data on advertising effectiveness to non-Google software so ad campaigns can be evaluated.

The European Commission is investigating many of the same allegations.

Google's critics, disappointed with the trajectory of the FTC probe, appear prepared to take their grievances to the U.S. Justice Department.

At least one Google adversary met with Justice Department officials recently, pressing them to investigate if the FTC fails to get a satisfactory settlement on search or litigate against Google, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

The Texas attorney general's office is also leading a probe into Google's practices.

(Reporting By Diane Bartz; editing by John Wallace)

Alan Anderson scored 24 points, DeMar DeRozan added 19 and Jose Calderon had 18 to lead a spirited Toronto effort that handed the Rockets a seventh straight road loss.

Playing without injured Andrea Bargnani and Kyle Lowry, two of the Raptors' top three scorers, Toronto built an early 12-point lead and held off a late Houston charge for its first win streak since April of the 2011-12 season.

James Harden had a game-high 28 points for the Rockets, who were unable to bust out of their longest road-losing streak since dropping eight in a row in 2001.

For Toronto (6-19), the win avenged last month's 117-101 road loss at Houston (11-12), which came during a dismal run that saw the Raptors loss 12 of 13 games.

(Editing by Gene Cherry)