S&P 500 Climbs to Pre-Lehman Level; Copper, Cotton Advance

Stocks rose, completing the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s recovery from the plunge that followed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse in 2008, and commodities gained as U.S. retail sales and earnings forecasts fueled optimism in the world’s largest economy.

The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to 1,254.60 at 4 p.m. in New York, above its closing level on Sept. 12, 2008, the last session before Lehman filed a record bankruptcy and intensified the financial crisis. Copper, cotton and rubber rose to records. The cost to insure Portuguese bonds against default climbed and the euro erased gains after Moody’s Investors Service said the nation’s bond rating may be cut.