NEW YORK: U.S. stocks rose the most in three weeks, sending the S&P 500 index to an all-time high, while Treasuries tumbled as investors resumed bets that growth in the world’s largest economy is set to accelerate. Commodities rallied. The Nasdaq Composite index also climbed to a record, with materials producers leading gains as copper and aluminum advanced. Housing stocks surged after the largest U.S. builder delivered earnings, while engineering firms gained as President Donald Trump took steps to advance construction of oil pipelines.
Banks jumped as the yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed back above 2.45 percent. Crude topped $53 a barrel. While politics continued to sway financial markets as a U.K. court ruled parliament must vote on any Brexit plan. Donald Trump sought to cajole U.S. automakers to build plants in America and vowed to renegotiate the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. Investors also turned to a slate of corporate earnings that began to show signs that the economy was on firm footing at the end of 2016. D.R. Horton’s results come amid data showing rising home construction and a pickup in demand as mortgage rates start to climb. The first reading on last quarter’s U.S. economic output is due Friday.
