US STOCKS-Wall St ends up, oil muddies bullish picture

                                

                                
 * Wall St stocks post third monthly rise
                                
 * Buffett says Berkshire eager to make acquisitions
                                
 * Indexes: Dow up 0.8 pct, S&P up 0.6 pct, Nasdaq flat
                                
 * For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]
 (Updates to close)
                                
 By Angela Moon
                                
 NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Bullish comments from Warren
Buffett helped U.S. stocks end another good month on a high
note on Monday, but uncertainty about oil prices could keep
investors from pushing the market much higher.
                                
 A sign stocks may stall out was evident in the lackluster
volume, in contrast with last week's selloff which occurred on
heavy volume. Just 7.3 billion shares traded on the New York
Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, well below last year's
daily average of 8.47 billion.
                                
 "The market is clearly in a play-it-by-ear mode on what
comes next, both in terms of the Middle East, the
sustainability of this spike (in oil prices) and what, if
sustained, this will do to the global economy," said Peter
Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak + Co in New York.
                                
 Brent crude oil prices <LCOc1>, which had jumped toward
$120 a barrel last week, eased to $112. But investors were
still jittery that the global economic recovery may be
threatened if oil prices stay high. For details, see
[ID:nLDE71Q0MP] and [O/R]
                                
 Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc <BRKa.N>, spoke
in his widely read annual letter to shareholders of the need
for "major acquisitions," a sign stocks may be cheap.
[ID:nN26170376] [ID:nN27180671]
                                
 The latest acquisition news came from Ventas Inc <VTR.N>,
which plans to buy Nationwide Health Properties <NHP.N> in a
$5.8 billion stock deal that strengthens Ventas' position as
the biggest U.S. owner of senior housing. NHP shares rose 9.7
percent to $42.74.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 95.89
points, or 0.79 percent, at 12,226.34. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was up 7.35 points, or 0.56 percent, at
1,327.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 1.22
points, or 0.04 percent, at 2,782.27.
                                
 The Nasdaq's gains were the smallest as Amazon.com Inc
<AMZN.O> fell 2.2 percent to $173.29 after UBS downgraded the
online retailer, citing increased costs. [ID:nL3E7DS15Z]
                                
 For the month, the Dow rose 2.8 percent, the S&P rose 3.2
percent and the Nasdaq gained 3 percent.
                                
 Comments from Federal Reserve officials hinting they were
ready to support the economy if necessary helped ease concern
over the scheduled end of the Fed's $600 billion bond-buying
program later this year.
                                
 New York Fed Bank President William Dudley said
policymakers should be wary about withdrawing liquidity too
quickly, while St. Louis Fed Bank President James Bullard would
not rule out further use of the Fed's unorthodox tool for
stimulus. [ID:nN28223114] [ID:nN28251869]
                                
 Data on Monday showed Midwest business activity rose more
than forecast in February. [ID:nDYE7DH00C]
                                
 In addition, U.S. incomes posted the largest increase since
May 2009 last month. The jump partly reflected a payroll tax
cut enacted last year. [ID:nN28244438]
 (Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Kenneth Barry)