U.S. Stocks Gain as S&P Posts Best Start Since 1987; Euro Rises

U.S. stocks advanced, giving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index its best start to a year since 1987, as semiconductor companies and homebuilders gained. The euro rose as the International Monetary Fund proposed boosting its lending resources by as much as $500 billion.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent to 1,308.04 at 4 p.m. New York time, closing above 1,300 for the first time since July. It has surged 4 percent this year. Computer-related companies led gains today among 10 MSCI World Index industries after ASML Holding NV, Europe’s biggest semiconductor-equipment maker, forecast higher first-quarter orders and Linear Technology Corp.’s sales beat projections. Builders climbed after industry confidence increased. The euro added 1 percent to $1.2859.