U.S. stocks advanced the most in almost two weeks, led by financial shares, after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the “vast majority” of the nation’s banks have enough capital.

Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. rallied at least 9.2 percent, helping financial shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reverse a 4.1 percent drop and lead the market’s gain. Yahoo! Inc. added 5.3 percent on reports it’s in talks to form an advertising partnership with Microsoft Corp. DuPont Co., the third-largest U.S. chemical maker, added 4.9 percent after predicting a rebound in demand.

The S&P 500 rose 2.1 percent to 850.08, its steepest gain since April 9, after dropping as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 127.83 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,969.56. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies jumped 3.9 percent. Six stocks climbed for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Source: Bloomberg.com)