U.S. stocks rallied the most in two weeks, with the S&P 500 Index jumping 6 percent in the final hour, as investors snapped up the cheapest energy shares on record and real-estate companies gained after CB Richard Ellis Inc. raised cash in a share sale.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. led gains in all 40 energy producers in the S&P 500 and helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average rebound from a 317-point drop. CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest provider of commercial real-estate services, surged 43 percent for its steepest advance since going public in 2004.

Declines in midday trading today pushed the S&P 500 to 35 percent below its average for the past 200 days, only the second time that’s happened since the Great Depression. The last time was a day before the index rose 12 percent on Oct. 13, the biggest rally since 1939.

The S&P 500 added 6.9 percent to 911.29, reversing a slide of 3.9 percent. The Dow increased 552.59 points, or 6.7 percent, to 8,835.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 6.5 percent to 1,596.7.

(Bloomberg.com)