U.S. Stocks Cap Best 2-Day Rally Since October on Economy

U.S. stocks rose, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index capping its best two-day rally since October, amid optimism economic growth is robust enough to weather stimulus cuts even as data showed weaker-than-forecast hiring.

Expedia Inc. (EXPE) jumped 14 percent after the online travel company said increased advertising and hotel-room bookings helped boost sales. Apple Inc. (AAPL) rose 1.4 percent on a report that the company bought back $14 billion of its shares. LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD) slumped 6.2 percent after saying sales growth will slow for a fifth consecutive quarter.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.3 percent to 1,797.02 at 4 p.m. in New York. The index rose 0.8 percent in the past five days, capping its first weekly advance in a month.

The S&P 500 (SPX) rallied 2.6 percent in the past two days, the most since Oct. 11, with the gauge posting consecutive gains of at least 1 percent for the first time since Jan. 2, 2013. The surge has trimmed the index’s decline from a record on Jan. 15 to 2.8 percent from as much as 5.8 percent.

(Source: Bloomberg)