S&P, Nasdaq turn positive; Dow cuts losses

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks turned positive and the Dow cut losses on Monday after General Motors reported December sales that were better than expected.

Dow component General Motors Corp rose 4.7 percent to $3.81 after it posted December sales. Ford shares also rose 4.5 percent to $2.57.

Energy stocks also rose as oil traded in New York jumped 4 percent to $46.52 a barrel on supply fears. The S&P index of energy shares <.GSPE> was up 2.5 percent, helped by a 1.1 percent gain in Chevron .

Driving the Nasdaq, Apple Inc jumped 5.6 percent to $95.75 after chief executive Steve Jobs sought to dispel fears about his health.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 25.01 points, or 0.28 percent, at 9,009.68. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 2.65 points, or 0.28 percent, at 934.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 5.38 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,637.59.

Earlier in the session stocks fell as investors took profits from last week's strong gains, while concerns about slowing wireless growth in 2009 weighed on large telecom and cable companies.

Dow components Verizon Communications Inc and AT&T stumbled after Bernstein Research downgraded both companies, saying it expected slower wireless growth in 2009.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by James Dalgleish)