Most U.S. Stocks, Oil Advance; Euro Tumbles on Debt Concerns

Most U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index holding a two-year high, as a gain in oil lifted energy shares and analysts recommended companies from Huntington Bancshares Inc. to MetroPCS Communications Inc. The euro slid as ratings were cut on some Irish lenders.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.3 percent to 1,247.08 at 4 p.m. in New York and rose as high as 1,250.2, less than two points below its close before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy in September 2008. The euro slid against 15 of 16 major peers, falling as much as 1.2 percent to a record low of 1.2636 francs. The 10-year Treasury yield was little changed at 3.33 percent, erasing earlier declines. Costs to protect U.S. corporate bonds from default slid to an eight-month low on a closing basis.