Dec. 18 -- U.S. stocks climbed for the first time in three days, led by banks and energy producers, after the European Central Bank injected $500 billion into the financial system to restore confidence in credit markets.
Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and American Express Co. led financial companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to the first advance in six days. Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips climbed after an incursion by Turkish troops into Iraq sent oil above $92 a barrel.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 8.18, or 0.6 percent, to 1,454.08 as of 9:49 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 61.61, or 0.5 percent, to 13,228.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 13.12, or 0.5 percent, to 2,587.58. About nine stocks rose for every two that dropped on the New York Stock Exchange.
``Central banks around the world are acting responsibly to provide liquidity during this period and that's a positive for stocks,'' said James Awad, who oversees about $4.5 billion as chairman of W.P. Stewart Asset Management in New York. ``The market's predisposition is to go higher.''
U.S. stocks completed their biggest two-day drop in more than a month yesterday, led by commodity producers, on concern a slowdown in bank lending will spur a recession. Costs of borrowing fell today after the European Central Bank injected an unprecedented $500 billion into the financial system to ease gridlock in the credit market.
The amount banks charge each other for two-week loans in euros dropped a record 50 basis points to 4.45 percent, after climbing 83 basis points in the past two weeks, the European Banking Federation said today. That's 45 basis points more than the ECB's benchmark interest rate.
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