U.S. Stocks Climb Most Since July, Led by Energy, as Oil Rises

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posted its biggest weekly gain since July as rising forecasts for oil demand boosted energy companies and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s recommendation lifted industrial shares.

The S&P 500 climbed to an 11-month high on Sept. 10 before retreating yesterday on concern the rally has outpaced prospects for earnings. Schlumberger Ltd. and Halliburton Co. gained more than 6.3 percent for the week as oil climbed above $72 a barrel and the dollar fell. General Electric Co. rallied 5.8 percent after Goldman Sachs said multi-industry companies tend to outperform when manufacturing growth returns.

The S&P 500 rose 2.6 percent to 1,042.73 and climbed for five sessions through Sept. 10, the longest streak of gains since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 164.14 points, or 1.7 percent, to 9,605.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 3.1 percent to 2,080.90. Markets were closed Sept. 7 for the Labor Day holiday.

“There are more signs globally that the recovery is going on,” said Linda Duessel, who helps oversee $402 billion as equity market strategist at Federated Investors Inc. in Pittsburgh. “Things are getting moderately better. We could be early in the new bull market.”

The S&P 500 has surged 54 percent from a 12-year low on March 9 as economic reports from U.S. home sales to manufacturing in China signaled the global recession is ending. Investor Michael Price, who managed some of the best-performing mutual funds during the 1980s and 1990s, said the U.S. equity market resembles 1975-1982, when the S&P 500 doubled.

VIX Declines

The benchmark index for U.S. stock options decreased the most in five weeks. The VIX, as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index is known, fell 4.4 percent to 24.15 and on Sept. 10 fell to 22.86, the lowest intraday level in a year. The index, which gauges the cost of using options to insure against S&P 500 declines, is down from a record 80.86 in November yet above its 20.24 average over its 19-year history.