March 26 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, extending the market’s best monthly gain since 1987, on better-than-estimated earnings at Best Buy Co. and ConAgra Foods Inc. and prospects for lower labor costs at General Motors Corp.
Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics chain, jumped 17 percent and ConAgra, maker of Banquet frozen dinners and Slim Jim meat snacks, rose 6.8 percent. GM climbed 12 percent as the company persuaded more than 6,000 union workers to take buyouts, according to people familiar with the matter. Research In Motion Ltd. gained 4.7 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended buying shares of the maker of BlackBerry phones.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1.4 percent to 819.5 at 12:16 p.m. in New York and is up 12 percent in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 87.77 points, or 1.1 percent, to 7,837.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 2.4 percent to 1,565.87. More than three stocks rose for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see this rally take the S&P up to 1,000,” said Tom Wirth, senior investment officer at Chemung Canal Trust Co., which manages $1.5 billion in Elmira, New York. “It’s been one data point after another that’s come in better than expected.”
Stocks added to gains from yesterday that were triggered by government data showing unexpected growth in durable-good orders and new-home sales. Those reports tempered reaction to Commerce Department data today that said the economy shrank last quarter at a 6.3 percent annual pace, more than previously estimated, while less than the average forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
European stocks retreated after U.K. retail sales posted the smallest annual increase in more than 13 years last month. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.5 percent.
Geithner in Congress
The S&P 500 Financials Index slid as much as 2.6 percent as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s began a presentation to Congress proposing that large hedge funds, private-equity firms and derivatives markets be brought under federal supervision for the first time as part of a revamp of U.S. financial rules. Under the new rules, the government would get powers to seize and wind down any financial company big enough to destabilize the banking system.
The measure of 81 banks, insurers and investment firms has jumped 54 percent since its low on March 6 on speculation Geithner’s plan to help investors buy toxic assets will revive credit markets.
Phones, Fiddle Faddle
Best Buy climbed 17 percent to $39.08 after saying fourth- quarter profit fell less than analysts estimated with results helped by mobile-phone sales in Europe. Best Buy’s earnings forecast for the year was also higher than analysts projected.
A measure of retailers, hotels, restaurants and other so- called consumer discretionary stocks climbed 3.4 percent, the most among S&P 500 industries.
ConAgra added 6.8 percent to $16.61. The company, which also makes Egg Beaters, Fiddle Faddle popcorn and Fleischmann’s margarine, cut prices for Banquet dinners and cooking oil after record high commodity prices receded and consumers moved to discounted brands.
S&P 500 companies are projected to report first-quarter profit fell 36 percent and 30 percent in the next, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Forecasts show earnings will decline until at least the third quarter, bringing the total slump to nine straight quarters, the longest since Bloomberg began tracking the data in 1998.
GM Buyouts
GM rose 12 percent to $3.34, the steepest gain in the Dow. The biggest U.S. automaker will announce the buyout participation today, said people familiar with the results, who asked to go unnamed because the tally is unofficial. GM and UAW spokesmen would not comment on buyout totals until the data is released. Research In Motion added 4.7 percent to $44.92. Goldman Sachs told investors to buy shares of the company ahead of its fourth-quarter earnings results, citing improving margins and valuation.
S&P 500 technology shares collectively advanced 2.7 percent to the highest level since Feb. 10. The industry is the S&P 500’s best performer this year with a 6.5 percent rally.
‘Bear-Market Rally’
The gain in global equities this month is a “bear-market rally,” said Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted last year’s economic crisis. Economists’ forecasts are “way too optimistic,” earnings will “surprise on the downside” and some large banks may go “belly up,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview in London today.
Laszlo Birinyi, president of Birinyi Associates Inc., also said investors who own stocks that rose as the equity market rallied in recent weeks should consider selling them.
Raytheon Co. rose 5.1 percent to $39.12. The world’s largest missile maker raised its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to 31 cents a share on its “strong financial position.”
U.S. investors put $5.61 billion into stock and bond mutual funds in the week ended March 18, the most since January, reversing course as the markets had their biggest surge in more than 70 years.
Investors put $5.64 billion in bond funds during the week and removed $232 million from stock funds, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. A week earlier, they deposited $901 million in bond accounts and pulled $22.11 billion from stock accounts, the largest such withdrawal in five months, statistics from the Washington-based trade group show.
The S&P 500 is still down 8.8 percent this year after tumbling 38 percent in 2008, its worst annual return since the Great Depression.
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