* GE says will keep dividend, shares jump 13 percent * Financials, energy recover after Monday's rout * Dow up 3 pct, S&P and Nasdaq up nearly 4 pct * For up-to-the-minute market news, please click on [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to add volume, context in indexes) By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks snapped back on Tuesday after a pledge by General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), a global bellwether, to leave its dividend intact in a fragile economy sparked optimism. Financial stocks recovered a sizable chunk of Monday's record loss after the Federal Reserve extended several emergency measures integral to stabilizing banks during the credit crisis. The move by the U.S. central bank came a day after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke emphasized that policy-makers were determined to stabilize the economy and financial markets. The S&P financial index rose nearly 8 percent, as Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) both jumped nearly 12 percent. But the spotlight was on conglomerate GE, whose shares surged 13.6 percent to $17.61 after the maker of goods from jet engines to lightbulbs said it plans to scale back its sizable finance arm and cut jobs as the U.S. recession digs deeper, while maintaining its dividend. For details, see [ID:nN01506020] "There's been concern about GE's defending its triple-A credit rating at its financing unit. ... The company is taking steps to bolster that unit, which will help protect its dividend," said Brian Gendreau, an investment strategist in New York for ING Investment Management Americas. "This is helping to pull the market higher." The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 270.00 points, or 3.31 percent, at 8,419.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX rose 32.60 points, or 3.99 percent, at 848.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 51.73 points, or 3.70 percent, at 1,449.80. Energy stocks, currently the cheapest S&P sector in relation to earnings, also drove the Dow higher after losses on Monday. Chevron (CVX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained almost 5 percent to $75.54 while Exxon Mobil (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed over 4 percent to $77.61. Stocks pared gains and the Dow briefly turned negative after General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported U.S. vehicle sales declined by 41 percent in November. [nN02291389] The carmaker recovered to end up almost 6 percent at $4.85, while Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 6 percent to $2.70. Executives of the big three U.S. automakers, including Chrysler, are due to present Washington with their plans to justify a $25 billion bailout as worries about possible bankruptcy persist. As part of its plan, Ford said it expected its overall and North American automotive business to break even or be profitable in 2011 and did not anticipate a liquidity crisis, barring a bankruptcy of one of its domestic rivals. [ID:nWNA0721] Even with the broad gains, worries about the deepening economic slump caused some caution, as diversified manufacturer 3M Co (MMM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell over 2.4 percent to $60.86 after a brokerage downgrade. Advancers outnumbered decliners by nearly 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, while the ratio of advancers was more than 2 to 1 to decliners on the Nasdaq. Volume totaled about 1.62 billion on the New York Stock Exchange, while about 2.14 billion shares changed hands on the Nasdaq. (Editing by Leslie Adler)

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