NEW YORK - After a three-day holiday, Wall Street gained on Tuesday as investors shrugged off another wave of EU sovereign downgrades by the rating agency Standard & Poor's.

Not only did the stock market end in positive territory, the price for oil once again reached over 100 dollars a barrel amid better-than-expected China GDP growth in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the euro, which has been dumped by investors recently, rebounded against the dollar, gaining almost 0.5 percent in late New York trading.

Kenneth Polcari, a veteran trader in the New York Stock Exchange, told Xinhua that the market reacted calmly to the news because the downgrade has already been factored in.

"The S&P had already telegraphed the potential downgrade way back in December. They made it clear they could do it, and they made it clear they were considering it, so the market had a sell-off. It's kind of priced in back in December," he said.

Polcari also mentioned that Tuesday's rally came after a three-day weekend, which was also good for the investment community to digest the bad news.

"So when today you saw those positive economic data coming out of Asia, out of China, it kind of took the pressure off at least the headlines of the European crisis because people tend to focus on the positive fundamentals," he said.

Data showed China's economic growth slowed to an annualized 8.9 percent, the slowest pace since mid-2009, but beat expectations of 8.7 percent. The stronger-than-expected growth in the world's second largest economy boosted US financial markets as it eased concerns over a significant slowdown in Asia.

Domestic economic data were also encouraging. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed manufacturing activity in the New York region picked up in January, rising from 9.53 to 13.48, the highest level in nine months. This was in line with the trend of modest improvement in US economic data.

"That market wants to go higher," Polcari said. "You can feel there's money that has to be put to work. Whether it is US money or foreign money, they are looking for a safe haven, and the US market is still the place to be," he said.

However, analysts said Europe will still be the wild card.

"European problems are not gonna be over until they are over," Polcari said. "As long as Europe is out of the headline, you'll see the Asian market and the US market trying to move higher. But the minute Europe gets a negative headline, the market will be pressured as investors are still nervous. They just need a little bit of reassurance, and that is what we are getting today."