Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained for a fifth day as a report that durable-goods orders jumped last month helped the market recoup losses tied to rising oil prices.

The larger-than-forecast increase in orders suggested that businesses will step up investments after pausing in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Boeing Co., the biggest aircraft maker, helped lead the advance.

``The underlying tone, at least in the business sector of our economy, is still very strong,'' Timothy Leach, chief investment officer at U.S. Trust Corp. said from San Francisco. ``We have more storms yet to come perhaps and so there is more of a watch-and-see attitude generally through the equity markets.''

The S&P 500 gained 1.23, or 0.1 percent, to 1216.89, after falling as much as 0.2 percent. The benchmark has advanced a 10th of a percent or less for four straight days. The Dow average rose 16.88, or 0.2 percent, to 10,473.09.

A decline in shares of Apple Computer Inc. weighed on the Nasdaq Composite Index, which slipped 1.02 to 2115.40.

Energy Prices

The S&P 500 is little changed this month amid concern that surging energy prices following Katrina will cause consumers to cut back on spending. A report yesterday showed the biggest drop in consumer confidence in 15 years.

Crude oil for November delivery today added 2 percent to $66.35 a barrel in New York. Oil futures had jumped as much as 3.6 percent on speculation that supplies will decline because Rita shut refineries along the Gulf of Mexico.

Benchmark indexes fluctuated with the price of oil for most of the day, moving higher in the final two hours of trading as crude retreated.

Stocks advanced in early trading after the Commerce Department said orders for items made to last at least several years increased 3.3 percent to $210.9 billion in August. Economists expected a gain of 0.7 percent based on a Bloomberg News survey.

Shipments increased the most this year and unfilled orders accumulated as companies struggled to meet the jump in demand. That's a sign that businesses are likely to resume spending, after a pause following the hurricanes, and give the economy a lift in 2006, economists said.

``While that's a significant number, I believe that the consumer-confidence numbers are more significant,'' said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services Inc. in Charlotte, Vermont. ``I'd be much more interested to see what the September numbers will be, so we can see what the damages on the economy from the hurricanes will be.''

The durable-goods report helped send Boeing higher, making it the second-biggest contributor to the Dow's advance. Boeing added 66 cents to $67.21.

Apple Falls

Apple lost $2.36, or 4.4 percent, to $51.08, for the third- worst performance in the S&P 500. The maker of iPod music players, was downgraded to ``neutral'' by Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Richard Farmer, who took over coverage of the stock this month from Steven Milunovich.

Paychex Inc. added $3.16, or 9.3 percent, to $37.25 for the second-best performance in the S&P 500. The provider of payroll services for businesses raised its fiscal 2006 sales and profit forecasts. Revenue will expand as much as 15 percent and net income growth may be as high as 24 percent, the company said. That's higher than a June forecast for maximum revenue and profit growth of 12 percent and 20 percent, respectively.

More than five stocks fell for every four that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Some 1.58 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, 7.6 percent more than the three-month average.

Fannie Mae Tumbles

Fannie Mae tumbled $4.99, or 11 percent, to $41.71 for the worst loss in the S&P 500. A probe of the largest source of money for U.S. home loans turned up ``new and pervasive accounting violations,'' Dow Jones reported, citing people ``close to, or who have been involved'' in the investigation that it didn't identify. Fannie Mae officials declined to comment on specific accounting issues, Dow Jones said.

Freddie Mac, the second-largest source of money for U.S. home loans, lost $1.10 to $54.60.

An index of retailers dropped 1.3 percent for the second- biggest drop among two-dozen S&P 500 groups. Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, slid $1.37 to $51.36. Coach Inc., the biggest U.S. seller of luxury leather goods, tumbled $1.48 to $31.24.

Mylan Gains

Mylan Laboratories Inc. advanced $1.16 to $18.84. A West Virginia court ruled that a Mylan drug-delivery system didn't infringe Alza Corp.'s patent and ruled that the patent was invalid, Mylan said.

Calpine Corp. gained 20 cents to $2.46. The largest U.S. owner of gas-fired power plants has enough cash to avoid filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection until 2007, Standard & Poor's said.

A gauge of utilities shares climbed 1 percent for the second-biggest gain among 10 industry groups in the S&P 500.

FPL Group Inc., owner of Florida's biggest electric utility, rallied $1.46 to $46.80. The company forecast per-share profit of $2.80 to $2.90 in 2006 and $3.15 to $3.35 the following year. Analysts expected $2.74 and $3.05, respectively, according to Thomson Financial.

Upgrades

MedImmune Inc. and Teradyne Inc. advanced after analysts recommended buying the stocks.

MedImmune gained $1.65 to $33.23. The maker of the FluMist nasal spray will benefit from the development of more drugs and the introduction of vaccines, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. analyst Craig Parker wrote in a note. He raised the rating to ``overweight'' from ``equal weight.''

Teradyne climbed 74 cents to $15.99. The world's largest maker of semiconductor-testing equipment was boosted to ``overweight'' from ``neutral'' by JPMorgan analyst Murali Abburi.

Shares of Tribune Co., the No. 2 U.S. newspaper publisher, declined $1.53 to $34.22 after the company said a court ruling may lead to a tax payment in the ``$1 billion range.'' Yesterday's decision disallowed a tax-free reorganization of a unit of Times Mirror Co., which Tribune bought in June 2000. Tribune said it would appeal the verdict.

Eastman Kodak Co., the No. 1 photography company, lost 12 cents to $24.89. The company said lower-than-expected earnings growth at its health group and a slower U.S. economy will hurt results this year.

Incyte Corp. slumped $2.97, or 41 percent, to $4.27. The company said its HIV drug Reverset requires additional testing before moving into the final phase of regulatory trials. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Incyte it wanted more information on Reverset's safety and efficacy.

Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL US)
Boeing Co. (BA US)
Calpine Corp. (CPN US)
Coach Inc.  (COH US)
Eastman Kodak Co. (EK US)
Fannie Mae (FNM US)
Freddie Mac (FRE US)
FPL Group Inc. (FPL US)
Incyte Corp. (INCY US)
International Business Machines (IBM US)
MedImmune Inc. (MEDI US)
Paychex Inc. (PAYX US)
Target Corp. (TGT US)
Teradyne Inc. (TER US)
Tribune Co. (TRB US)

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Hauck in New York at dhauck1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 28, 2005 17:29 EDT