U.S. Stocks Advance, Giving S&P 500 Its Second Weekly Advance
By Nikolaj Gammeltoft
June 18 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advancing for a second week for the biggest back-to-back weekly gain since November, amid speculation Europe’s efforts to contain its debt crisis are succeeding.
Energy stocks rose with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Newmont Mining Corp., the largest U.S. gold producer, leading commodity producers higher. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 1.9 percent amid speculation Europe’s debt crisis has been contained. Walgreen Co. and CVS Caremark Corp. climbed at least 1.8 percent after ending an 11-day dispute over drug plans. Cisco Systems Inc. increased 1.4 percent after signing an agreement with China’s biggest Internet company.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent to 1,117.51 as of 4 p.m. in New York after falling as much as 0.2 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2 percent, or 16.47 points, to 10,450.64.
“The concerns about a slowdown coming from Europe and China aren’t manifesting themselves yet in the companies that have been reporting in the last week or two,” said James Thorne, who oversees $2 billion as chief investment officer for equities at MTB Investment Advisors in Baltimore.
Futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expired at the close of trading today. So-called quadruple witching occurs once every three months. The quarterly rebalancing of the S&P 500 and S&P gauges of smaller companies also occurred after the close.
Commodities Gain
Energy producers rose the most among 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 as oil reversed earlier losses. Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. energy company, climbed 0.8 percent to $63.10. Crude oil for July delivery gained 38 cents to $77.17 a barrel in New York.
Newmont Mining increased 2.6 percent to $61.25. Gold futures for August delivery rose 0.8 percent to a record $1,258.30 on the Comex in New York.
DuPont, the third-largest U.S. chemical maker, gained 1.5 percent to $38.36.
Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan and HSBC Holdings Plc raised $7.65 billion in the bond market as investors grow more confident Europe’s debt crisis will be contained, averting another credit freeze for lenders. JPMorgan gained the most in the Dow, rising 1.9 percent to $39.8.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 percent to 255.5 in its eighth day of gains, the longest winning streak since July 2009.
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