New York  - US stocks gained on Tuesday after the Treasury Department said it would commit 6 billion dollars to support GMAC LLC, the financing arm of General Motors Corp, to save the ailing car giant from bankruptcy.

The Treasury said late Monday it would buy a 5-billion-dollar stake in GMAC and also lend GM an additional 1 billion dollars so that the largest US carmaker can contribute to the financier's reorganization as a bank holding company.

The carmaker gained 5.6 per cent in trading on Tuesday to close at 3.80 dollars per share.

The news buoyed Wall Street, despite word that consumer confidence in the United States hit a record low in December as employers continue to shed jobs and amid a gloomy outlook for the next year.

The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell to 38 in December from the downwardly revised 44.7 in November as the world's largest economy grapples with a recession and the worst economic conditions in decades.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 184.46 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 8,668.39, while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index jumped 21.22 points, or 2.4 per cent, to 890.64. The technology heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 40.38, or 2.7 per cent, to 1,550.70.

The US currency slipped against the euro to 70.89 euro cents from 71.81 euro cents on Monday. The dollar also slipped against the Japanese currency to 90.24 yen from
90.67 yen Monday. (dpa)