April 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks posted the biggest weekly gain in almost three months after oil prices reached new highs and Google Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Intel Corp. reported better-than-expected earnings.

Energy stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index had the biggest gain this decade after crude oil surpassed $116 a barrel in New York. Google's profit report sent the Internet search engine operator higher by 20 percent yesterday, the biggest one- day climb since it was taken public in 2004. Intel helped push technology shares to the steepest weekly advance since August 2006, while JPMorgan's Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the credit-market crisis is nearing an end.

``It's been quite an exciting market,'' said John Carey, who helps oversee $13 billion at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. ``Earnings are the big story, and you have some companies surprising and being rewarded in the market.''

The S&P 500 added 4.3 percent to 1,390.33, the highest level since Feb. 1, as all 10 of its industries gained. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 4.3 percent to 12,849.36. The Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks increased 4.8 percent to 721.07.

Profit exceeded analysts' estimates at 58 of 101 companies in the S&P 500 that have released first-quarter results so far, even as earnings fell an average 37 percent from a year earlier, according to Bloomberg data. Overall, earnings are forecast to decline 13.7 percent in the first quarter, marking the third straight decrease.

Commodities Surge

Oil, copper, corn and rice reached all-time highs this week on concern producers won't be able to keep up with growing demand. Their gains sent energy and raw-material producers in the S&P 500 higher by 7.7 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, this week. The industries are the only two in the S&P 500 that have advanced this year.

Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest oil company, rose the most in a year, gaining 6.1 percent to $94 this week. Schlumberger Ltd., the biggest oilfield contractor, added 12 percent to $101.85 as higher fuel prices prompted increased drilling by customers worldwide.

Google rose 18 percent to $539.41. The company posted 7.1 percent more quarterly profit than analysts estimated, according to Bloomberg data, on overseas growth and a bigger-than- predicted jump in the number of users clicking on text advertisements.

Intel rose 6.2 percent to $22.55. The largest semiconductor manufacturer's sales forecast topped estimates, a signal that chip demand is holding steady. Technology stocks, the third- worst-performing industry group in the S&P 500 this year, added 6.3 percent.

`Nice Rallies'

``Earnings are, yet again, coming in OK,'' Robert Doll, who helps oversee $1.3 trillion as chief investment officer of global equities at BlackRock Inc. in Princeton, New Jersey, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``A lot of people are bearish and that's usually when those nice rallies get started.''

JPMorgan, the third-biggest U.S. bank, added 7.6 percent to $45.76. Earnings reports from Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Charles Schwab Corp. also helped lead a 5.2 percent rally in financial stocks. Profits have fallen 85 percent, on average, for the 34 out of 92 S&P 500 financial companies that have announced results so far, according to Bloomberg data.

Charles Schwab, the largest discount brokerage by customer assets, jumped 18 percent to $21.70 for the second-steepest gain among S&P 500 banks, brokerages and insurance companies. Wells Fargo, the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, added 8.7 percent to $30.40. Citigroup, the largest U.S. bank by assets, climbed 7.5 percent to $25.11.

Takeover Offer

Circuit City Stores Inc. jumped 21 percent to $4.73. Blockbuster Inc., the movie-rental chain that's lost half its market value in a year, made an unsolicited $1.35 billion offer for Circuit City, the money-losing consumer-electronics chain.

Blockbuster bid between $6 and $8 a share in a February letter to Circuit City Chief Executive Officer Philip Schoonover. Circuit City said it isn't convinced the company can finance a purchase. Blockbuster shares slipped 1.9 percent to $3.07.

Apple Inc., AT&T Inc., Bank of America Corp., Merck & Co., Microsoft Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. are among more than 160 companies in the S&P 500 scheduled to report quarterly results next week.

The collapse in U.S. home sales showed no sign of ending in March, while orders from overseas helped manufacturing stabilize, economists said before reports next week.

Yields on Treasury securities climbed as gains in equities cut demand for fixed-rate investments. The two-year note's yield climbed to 2.13 percent from 1.75 percent, its biggest weekly increase since 2001.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lynn Thomasson in New York at lthomasson@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 19, 2008 08:00 EDT