April 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, extending the best monthly advance for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since 2003, as faster-than-forecast economic growth eased concern that the housing slump will drag the country into a recession.
Eight of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 climbed after the government said the economy expanded at a 0.6 percent annual pace in the first quarter. General Motors Corp. rallied the most in six weeks as the largest automaker reported a narrower loss than analysts estimated. Procter & Gamble Co., the biggest consumer-products company, posted its steepest gain since August as higher overseas sales helped profit beat projections.
The S&P 500 added 3.46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,394.4 at 10:21 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.22, or 0.4 percent, to 12,879.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 5.36, or 0.2 percent, to 2,431.46. Almost three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
``We didn't go into a recession in the first quarter as the whole world said we were,'' said Eric Green, director of research at Penn Capital Management in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, which oversees about $4.5 billion. ``Today's number proves a lot of people wrong. The market is taking it as a positive.''
Monthly Rally
The S&P 500 has climbed 5.4 percent this month after results from Google Inc., Intel Corp., Boeing Co. and American Express Co. eased concern profits will deteriorate. As of yesterday, 62.5 percent of the companies in the S&P 500 reported positive earnings surprises, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its decision on interest rates following a meeting in Washington today at 2:15 p.m. Futures contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade show there's a 78 percent chance that the central bank will lower the target for overnight lending to 2 percent from 2.25 percent.
European shares advanced today, while Asia's regional benchmark fell for the first time in four days.
GM climbed $1.67, or 7.9 percent, to $22.87. The automaker said its first-quarter loss excluding some costs was 62 cents a share. On that basis, GM was expected to lose $1.52 a share, the average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. GM had an $812 million pretax loss in North America, its largest region, and boosted profits in each of its other three regions.
Procter & Gamble rose $2.05, or 3.1 percent, to $67.95. Third-quarter profit increased 7.9 percent. Consumers in China, India and Latin America bought more shampoo and makeup as their standards of living improved, offsetting a drop in U.S. demand. The company raised prices to help meet higher commodity costs.
Cummins, Embarq
Cummins Inc. jumped $2.32, or 4 percent, to $59.81. The maker of more than a third of North America's heavy-duty truck engines beat analysts' estimates with first-quarter earnings that grew 33 percent on higher demand for motors and commercial generators.
Embarq Corp. added $3.05, or 7.7 percent, to $42.71. The local phone-service provider in 18 U.S. states reported a 33 percent increase in first-quarter profit after selling more high-speed Internet services to existing customers and cutting jobs.
Stocks also climbed after ADP Employer Services said companies in the U.S. added 10,000 jobs this month, defying economists' average forecast for a decline of 60,000. The gain in gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced in the U.S., was more than the 0.5 percent forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey and matched the rate of growth in the previous three months.
`Good News'
``If this is as bad as it gets or close to it, that means we may not have a recession but rather a growth slowdown, and that's good news,'' said Edgar Peters, chief investment officer at PanAgora Asset Management in Boston, which manages $25 billion. ``For the market it does help because it means that the worst fears aren't going to come through.''
Citigroup Inc. retreated 57 cents to $25.75. The biggest U.S. bank by assets announced a plan to sell $4.5 billion in stock to increase capital depleted by $40.9 billion in losses and writedowns on subprime-related mortgages and bonds.
Citigroup increased the sale from $3 billion offered yesterday on ``strong demand from a broad base of investors,'' Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said in a statement.
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney said Citigroup may need to raise as much as an additional $15 billion, according to a note to clients dated yesterday.
Reynolds American Inc. fell $4.46, or 7.7 percent, to $53.39. The second-largest U.S. tobacco company said full-year profit would be lower than previously forecast after first- quarter earnings missed analysts' estimates.
Oracle Corp., the world's third-largest software maker, lost 31 cents to $21.45 after rival SAP AG reported its steepest quarterly profit decline in almost six years on acquisition- related costs and a weaker dollar. SAP's American depositary receipts retreated 4.5 percent to $50.08.
Alcatel-Lucent SA ADRs dropped after the world's largest maker of telecommunications equipment forecast the first sales decline since its 2006 takeover as a weaker dollar cut earnings at Europe's largest companies. Alcatel-Lucent retreated 6.4 percent to $6.61.
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