U.S. stocks rose, extending the best quarterly rally for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index since 1998, as higher oil prices lifted energy shares and investors speculated the recession is easing.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. gained as crude climbed above $71 a barrel. Microsoft Corp. added 1.9 percent after Deutsche Bank AG raised its price estimate for the world’s biggest software company. Ford Motor Co. rallied 4.5 percent after predicting the slowest slide in sales among major automakers. Treasuries advanced for a third day, sending 10-year yields to near the lowest level in four weeks.
The S&P 500, which capped its first back-to-back weekly declines since March on June 26, rose 0.8 percent to 926.59 at 3:13 p.m. in New York and is up 16 percent in the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 82.6 points, or 1 percent, to 8,520.99. Almost five stocks advanced for every three that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Bloomberg.com)
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Meaningless since it was recovering from a deep decline. Stocks at worth less than they were 10 years ago, i.e., if someone took money in 1998 and put it in a mattress it would be worth more than someone who “invested” in an index fund.