U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a three-day losing streak for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, amid a decrease in bank borrowing and better-than-estimated earnings at CA Inc. Treasuries rose and the dollar slumped.

Fifth Third Bancorp, Huntington Bancshares Inc. and State Street Corp. rallied more than 6.5 percent as all but one of the 24 companies in the KBW Bank Index advanced following the biggest drop in three-month Libor in two months. CA Inc., the world’s second-largest maker of software for mainframe computers, climbed 5.5 percent. Intel Corp. and Apple Corp. added more than 2.7 percent.

The S&P 500 has fallen 3.9 percent this week after a rally of as much as 37 percent since March 9, the steepest nine-week gain since the 1930s, pushed the benchmark for American equity to the most expensive price relative to earnings in seven months. The loss wiped out most of the rally last week that was driven by speculation the banking industry is improving following the government’s stress tests.

The S&P 500 climbed 1 percent to 893.07 at 5:07 p.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46.43 points, or 0.6 percent, to 8,331.32. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index increased 0.5 percent. The dollar fell against most major currencies as the gain in stocks encouraged investors to buy higher-yielding assets, lessening the refuge appeal of the greenback.

(Bloomberg.com)