Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Most U.S. stocks rose as speculation the White House will help struggling mortgage borrowers led a rebound in banks and better-than-estimated results at Coca-Cola Co. spurred gains in consumer shares.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index recovered from a 3.1 percent tumble in the final hour of trading, with banks in the gauge recouping most of an 11 percent slide. Coca-Cola, the largest soft-drink company, jumped 7.6 percent after higher European income and lower costs helped earnings top analysts’ estimates. The market’s earlier slide was spurred by a jump in jobless claims to a record and concern that Congress’s stimulus package will fail to revive the economy.

About ten stocks advanced for every nine that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 added 0.2 percent to 835.19. The Dow slipped 6.77 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,932.76, recovering most of a 245.55-point drop.

“It gave stocks hope for today,” Quincy Krosby, who helps manage about $347 billion as chief investment strategist at the Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut, said of the possible help for homeowners. “It’s something more specific and everyone has said all along that the problem is mortgages. So if you can alleviate the downdrift in the housing industry, it’ll help the economy.”

The Obama administration’s housing plan will use government money to help reduce interest rates for struggling borrowers, while asking lawmakers to approve more ways to modify mortgages, according to a person briefed on the proposal. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner intends to make the plan public in coming days, possibly within a week, said the person, who declined to be identified before the announcement.

Financials Rebound

Financial stocks in the S&P 500 recovered from a 7.3 percent slide in the final hour of trading, paring the group’s decline to 1.3 percent. Fifth Third Bancorp climbed 13 percent in the last hour and Regions Financial Corp., Alabama’s largest, climbed 10 percent after 3 p.m. The stocks pared declines of 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively, to close down less than 3 percent.

Coca-Cola gained $3.12 to $44.39 for the steepest advance in the Dow. The beverage maker reported fourth-quarter profit that fell less than analysts estimated after lowering expenses by cutting jobs and adding technology to track sales.

Rival PepsiCo Inc. may say before the open of U.S. exchanges tomorrow that fourth-quarter profit was 88 cents a share, the average of 10 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. PepsiCo climbed 2.8 percent to $52.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo led a gauge of food and beverage stocks in the S&P 500 to a 2.2 percent gain, the best performance among 24 industries.

Burritos, Wings

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. gained 12 percent to $53.25. The burrito chain spun off from McDonald’s Corp. reported fourth- quarter profit of 52 cents a share, topping the average analyst estimate by 7.2 percent, according to Bloomberg data.

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. jumped 34 percent to $29.42. The restaurant chain specializing in chicken wings and beer said it earned 43 cents a share in the fourth quarter. That beat the average analyst estimate by 14 percent, Bloomberg data show.

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly halted a record six- month slide in January, reflecting higher gasoline prices and more spending on items such as clothing and food. The 1 percent increase followed a revised 3 percent drop the prior month, the Commerce Department said. Purchases excluding automobiles gained 0.9 percent.

‘Power Punch’

U.S. stocks gained yesterday as lawmakers neared agreement on a $789 billion plan to revive the economy. The stimulus bill, a mix of government spending and tax cuts that is smaller than the original plans in the House and Senate, is headed for passage in Congress by the end of this week. Governments worldwide are trying to stabilize a global economy battered by more than $1 trillion in credit losses at financial companies.

“This plan really isn’t going to deliver a power punch of stimulus until about a year from now,” Jeffrey Kleintop, who helps oversee $233 billion as chief market strategist at LPL Financial in Boston, told Bloomberg Television. “It’s a long time until we start to see the tailwinds of the stimulus take effect so that’s going to keep weighing on the market.”

The S&P 500 Banks Index fell 4.6 percent after earlier sliding more than 11 percent to below its lowest closing level in 17 years.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. chase and company rose 0.4 percent to $26.19, erasing a 7.4 percent tumble. Bank of America Corp. pared a 12 percent tumble to 3.3 percent.

The early slide in banks came after Wall Street chief executives including Citigroup Inc.’s Vikram Pandit, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and Bank of Bank of America’s Ken Lewis were questioned by Congress yesterday about their lending under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Bonuses, Jets

“Seeing these CEOs being put through the ringer isn’t confidence-inspiring to potential investors,” said Richard Sichel, who oversees $1.3 billion as chief investment officer at Philadelphia Trust Co. in Philadelphia. “People are looking for earnings, but talking about bonuses and corporate jets isn’t what future earnings is all about.”

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index lost 1.3 percent today and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index tumbled 2.2 percent.

Even with today’s drop, China, Brazil and Russia are the only major stock markets recording gains of more than 8 percent this year. India, the fourth member of the so-called BRICs, is down 1.9 percent. The S&P 500, the benchmark index for U.S. equities, is down 7.5 percent in 2009 after tumbling 38 percent last year.

Kohl’s, NYSE Euronext

Kohl’s Corp. slid 3.7 percent to $36.54 after Goldman Sachs downgraded the department-store chain to “sell” from “neutral” and added the shares to the firm’s “conviction sell” list.

NYSE Euronext slipped 3.8 percent to $19.82. The world’s largest owner of stock exchanges was cut to “hold” from “buy” at Citigroup, which cited slowing volumes, pricing pressures and an “uphill battle” in expense reductions. The New York-based company, which lost a record $1.34 billion in the fourth quarter after writing down its purchase of Euronext NV, is trying to engineer a recovery by overhauling trading systems and cut $250 million in annual costs by 2010.

Earnings fell 35 percent on average at the 359 companies in the S&P 500 that reported fourth-quarter results since Jan. 12, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The period is poised to be the sixth straight quarter of decreasing profits, the longest streak on record.

Results at companies from Microsoft Corp. to Procter & Gamble Co. disappointed investors as the economy shrank at the fastest pace in 26 years last quarter.

In Western Europe, profits have declined 65 percent for the companies that released earnings since Jan. 12, according to Bloomberg data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jeff Kearns in New York at jkearns3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 12, 2009 17:06 EST