Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 13-month high, as new home sales beat forecasts and jobless claims fell, suggesting the economic recovery is broadening.[bn:WBTKR=NVR:US]

NVR Inc. [] climbed 1.2 percent, leading an advance in homebuilders, after purchases of new houses climbed to the highest level since 2008 in October. Home Depot Inc., Macy’s Inc. and Target Corp. advanced after the government said the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits slid last week to 466,000, the fewest since September 2008.

The S&P 500 added 0.5 percent to 1,110.63 at 4 p.m. in New York, the highest close since Oct. 2, 2008. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent to 10,464.4. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.3 percent to 2,176.05. About 5.56 billion shares traded in the U.S., the least of any session this year. U.S. exchanges will be closed tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Jobless claims numbers were spectacular, way better than anybody expected,” said Eric Green, director of research at Penn Capital Management, which oversees $4 billion in Philadelphia. “This is very, very supportive of an economic recovery.”

U.S. stocks fell yesterday as smaller-than-forecast growth in personal consumption spurred concern that consumers are struggling to recover from the recession. The S&P 500 has soared 64 percent from a 12-year low on March 9, leaving the index valued at more than 22 times its companies’ reported operating earnings, near the highest level since 2002, according to weekly data compiled by Bloomberg.

Homebuilders Advance

An index of homebuilders in the U.S. equity benchmark gained 0.7 percent. NVR added 1.2 percent to $684.26 and D.R. Horton gained 0.8 percent to $10.66. The Commerce Department said new home sales rose 6.2 percent to an annual pace of 430,000, the highest level since September 2008. Sales were projected to climb to a 404,000 annual pace from an originally reported 402,000 rate in September, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Home Depot gained 1.1 percent to $27.85, Macy’s rose 3.2 percent to $17.56 and Target Corp. increased 0.8 percent to $47.83. Other data showed personal income rose 0.2 percent in October, higher than the 0.1 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and personal spending increased 0.7 percent, topping the 0.5 percent median estimate.

‘Path of Least Resistance’

“The path of least resistance for the market continues to be up,” said James Dunigan, chief investment officer for the wealth management division at PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which oversees $104 billion. “There’s some anticipation that as we head into the holiday season and the shopping season that the news may be a little better than most people think.”

Tiffany & Co. climbed 4.9 percent to $43.89. The world’s second-largest luxury-jewelry retailer reported third-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates and boosted its full-year forecast as revenue grew in Asia and Europe.

J. Crew Group Inc. rose 7.8 percent to $44.05 after the U.S. clothing retailer reported third-quarter profit excluding some items of 67 cents a share, beating the average analyst estimate in a Bloomberg survey by 14 percent.

About 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that reported third- quarter results since Oct. 7 have beaten analysts’ predictions. That exceeds the record pace of 72.3 percent for the period ended in June, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Dollar Falls

The Dollar Index, a six-currency gauge of the greenback’s strength, fell for a third day, losing 1.1 percent and boosting demand for raw materials from coffee to oil.

Raw-materials producers advanced the most of 10 industry groups in the S&P 500, gaining 1.5 percent. Newmont Mining Corp., the biggest U.S. gold producer, added 2.9 percent to $54.90. Gold climbed to a record $1,193.30 an ounce as the dollar’s slump deepened and on a report that India may buy more bullion for its central-bank reserves.

U.S. Steel Corp., the largest U.S.-based steelmaker, and AK Steel Holding Corp., the fourth-largest U.S.-based steelmaker, each added at least 3.8 percent. Copper futures for March delivery gained 1.7 percent to $3.197 a pound on the New York Mercantile Exchange’s Comex division. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials climbed 2.3 percent. Crude oil rose after a government report showed that U.S. fuel demand gained for a second week.

“Gold’s going to go higher, energy’s probably going to go higher, the market’s probably going to go higher, but the easy money is over and its going to be a little more choppy and it’s going to be a little more hard-earned,” said Yu-Dee Chang, who oversees $160 million in assets as chief executive officer of ACE Investment Strategists LLC in McLean, Virginia.

‘Intriguing Mix’

JDS Uniphase Corp. gained 4.2 percent to $7.71. The maker of phone equipment for companies such as AT&T Inc. was rated “buy” in new coverage at Citigroup Inc., which said the company was an “intriguing mix of growth businesses -- secular, cyclical and steady.”

Halliburton Co. lost 0.8 percent to $30.21, leading a decline in energy companies. The world’s second-largest oilfield-services provider said a reduction in business from Petroleos Mexicanos will cut earnings by about 2 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

Walt Disney Co. added 1.3 percent to $30.61, leading an index of consumer discretionary shares in the S&P 500 to the second-biggest gain of 10 industries. The world’s largest media company said China’s approval of a 116 hectare (287 acre) plot of land for the company’s park in Shanghai represents only a portion of the development’s total size.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. added 5.1 percent to $24.86. The best-performing natural-gas producer in the S&P 500 last quarter made a joint application with Statoil ASA and Sasol Ltd. for exploration rights of shale gas resources in South Africa’s Karoo Basin. Natural gas futures rose the highest price in more than 10 months as government reports spurred speculation that industrial demand will increase with a strengthening economy.

Denbury Resources Inc., the largest oil and natural gas operator in Mississippi, added 4.1 percent to $14.12.

To contact the reporters on this story: Sapna Maheshwari in New York at smaheshwar11@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 25, 2009 16:46 EST