Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- American Express Co., the largest credit-card issuer by purchases, said annualized worldwide spending climbed in October as rising equities may have emboldened affluent customers.

“With real estate values now moving in a more positive direction and the partial rebound we’ve seen in the stock market, the decline in our billings growth appears to have bottomed out,” Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Chenault said today at a conference in New York. “October’s rates were the best we’ve seen.”

Customers spent more on their American Express cards in October than any other month this year as annualized billings advanced 3 percent in the month, the New York-based lender said. When adjusted for foreign-exchange rates, October billings fell 1 percent.

American Express, the top performer this year in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, posted third-quarter income from continuing operations of $642 million as total card spending in the period expanded to $156.6 billion from $151.4 billion in the preceding three-month period.

American Express climbed 63 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $39.68 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading and rose as high as $39.86, a 52-week high. The shares have surged 114 percent on the year, compared with 17 percent for the Dow index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Eichenbaum in New York at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 16:35 EST