Pursuits
U.S. Stocks Rally Most in Seven Weeks Amid Economic Optimism
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U.S. stocks rose, giving benchmark indexes their biggest advance in seven weeks, as reports on employment and manufacturing topped estimates while consumer confidence climbed in October to a more than four-year high.
Eight of 10 groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index advanced. Caterpillar Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Bank of America Corp. climbed more than 3.4 percent to lead gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Visa Inc. rose 3.7 percent after reporting fourth-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Macy’s Inc. climbed 6.4 percent after raising its sales forecast. Pfizer Inc. lost 1.3 percent after the world’s largest drugmaker narrowed its forecast for 2012.