U.S. stocks rose, recouping yesterday’s drop, as better-than-estimated earnings at companies from Marriott International Inc. to ConocoPhillips and EBay Inc. overshadowed falling home sales and higher jobless claims.

Marriott, the biggest U.S. hotel chain, surged 12 percent and helped drive Host Hotels & Resorts Inc., the largest lodging real-estate investment trust, to a 17 percent advance. EBay rallied 12 percent, while Apple Inc. and ConocoPhillips climbed more than 3 percent, after earnings topped analyst projections. NYSE Euronext jumped 14 percent on takeover speculation.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index increased 1 percent to 851.92. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 70.49 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,957.06. About 10 stocks gained for every nine that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.

Benchmark indexes fluctuated for most of the day before turning decisively higher in the final half hour of trading. The S&P 500 is up 26 percent from a 12-year low on March 9 as government efforts to fix the financial system and revive economic growth fuel speculation the global recession is subsiding. The Federal Reserve and U.S. government have pledged $12.8 trillion to boost the economy and consumer spending.

(Bloomberg.com)