Stocks, Commodities Jump on Retailing, Home Sales; Euro Rises

Stocks advanced, giving the Dow Jones Industrial Average its biggest two-day rally since July, and oil increased to a two-year high as U.S. home sales and retail purchases topped estimates and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised buying banks.

The Dow climbed 1 percent and is up 3.2 percent this month. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 1.7 percent and the euro gained 0.5 percent to $1.3209 as the European Central Bank extended an emergency loan program. Oil surged to $88 a barrel while 10-year Treasury yields climbed. Spain’s IBEX 35 rallied 2.8 percent and the 10-year Spanish bond yield fell after demand rose at a note sale. After the U.S. close, Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures slid 0.1 percent at 7 p.m. in New York and Japanese stocks rose.