S&P 500 Rallies to Highest Level Since April on Housing, Cisco

U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to the highest level since April, as building permits jumped in July to a four-year peak and Cisco Systems Inc.’s earnings beat estimates.

Cisco rallied 9.6 percent while Sears Holdings Corp. climbed 6.5 percent as its loss narrowed. An S&P index of homebuilders soared 4.4 percent to the highest level since 2008. Facebook Inc. dropped 6.3 percent to the lowest price since its initial public offering as the end of a lockup period freed