U.S. stocks rose, capping the biggest two-day advance for benchmark indexes since March 2009, as the largest increase in American retail sales in four months tempered concern economic growth is slowing.
A gauge of retailers in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 1.5 percent, as 26 of its 30 stocks advanced, after the Commerce Department reported a 0.5 percent increase in retail sales. Caterpillar Inc. and United Technologies Corp. added at least 2.9 percent, pacing gains among companies most-tied to the economy. Hewlett-Packard Co. advanced 4.1 percent after Jefferies Group Inc. raised its recommendation for the shares. Stocks pared earlier gains as financial companies declined.
