Losses Erased for S&P 500 as Bernanke, Economy Spur Recovery

U.S. equities recouped $1 trillion of share value that was erased in the last seven weeks, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke pledged to preserve stimulus and stocks rallied on signs of economic expansion.

Yesterday’s 1.4 percent gain wiped out losses for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index that had swelled to as much as 5.8 percent in the month after Bernanke raised the prospect of slowing bond purchases. Stocks rose in 10 of the last 12 days. Target Corp., Boeing Co. and 131 other companies are trading at 52-week highs, almost three times the average at four S&P 500 peaks between 1990 and 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show.