U.S. stocks rallied for a second day, rebounding from the biggest monthly drop in a year for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as a surge in energy stocks spread to the broader market.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. climbed at least 3 percent as Brent crude entered a bull market. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. rose 8.8 percent as commodities had the biggest three-day advance since 2012. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. jumped after sales exceeded analysts’ estimates as cheaper gas and falling unemployment boosted consumer confidence.
The S&P 500 added 1.4 percent to 2,050.03 at 4 p.m. in New York, climbing above its average level for the past 50 days while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 305.36 points, or 1.8 percent, to 17,666.40. The gauge is up 2.9 percent over two days, the most since Jan. 8.
“The fact that oil is stabilizing takes some edge off the argument that the global economy is really in trouble,” Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Milwaukee-based RW Baird & Co., which oversees $110 billion, said in a phone interview. “The markets are a little oversold after being down in January, which is also part of the strength today.”
The S&P 500 rebounded 1.3 percent Monday, and the two-day rally has trimmed the gauge’s decline for the year to 0.4 percent. The index lost 3.1 percent in January, the worst performance in a year, as concern mounted that slowing growth overseas will hurt the American economy at the same time that the plunge in crude and the stronger dollar have shown signs of eroding corporate profits.