U.S. stocks gained for a fourth day, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level since October, after U.S. existing home sales jumped to the highest level in almost two years. The dollar and Treasuries fell, while oil rose to a 10-month high.

Exxon Mobil Corp., General Electric Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. added more than 1.9 percent. D.R. Horton Inc. and Pulte Homes Inc. climbed as the National Association of Realtors said home sales increased 7.2 percent in July, exceeding the median economist forecast. Ten-year Treasury yields rose from their lowest levels in five weeks as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the global economy is “beginning to emerge” from recession.

The S&P 500 added 1.9 percent to 1,026.13 at 4 p.m. in New York, giving it a 2.2 percent advance this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 155.91 points, or 1.7 percent, to 9,505.96. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 2.3 percent, the most since July 15, to 234.85, after services in Germany and manufacturing in France unexpectedly expanded.

(Bloomberg.com)