U.S. stocks rose, adding to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s best two-week rally since 2000, as the biggest jump in new-home sales in eight years overshadowed disappointing results from Aetna Inc. and RadioShack Corp.

Centex Corp. rallied 9.1 percent to lead a gauge of homebuilders in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to an almost three-month high, and Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. also climbed. Aetna and RadioShack lost at least 2.7 percent each.

The S&P 500 added 0.3 percent to 982.18 at 4:10 p.m. in New York, the highest level since Nov. 4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 15.27 points, or 0.2 percent, to 9,108.51. The Russell 2000 Index added 0.4 percent to 550.88, the highest close since Oct. 14.

The Dow average surged 12 percent in the two weeks before today after companies including Caterpillar Inc. and 3M Co. reported earnings that beat estimates and a gain in existing home sales added to signs the recession is easing. The S&P 500 ended July 24 at its most expensive valuation since September, trading for 16.23 times profit from the past year.

(Bloomberg.com)