By Sapna Maheshwari Nov. 16 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks added to a global rally, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 13-month high, after retail sales increased more than forecast and Asian government leaders pledged to maintain economic stimulus spending. The dollar fell, helping extend gains in commodities. Nordstrom Inc. advanced 2.4 percent as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the department-store chain will benefit from a recovery in spending by affluent customers. Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. and Saks Inc. rose as the U.S. government said retail sales grew 1.4 percent in October, topping the median economist estimate. Barrick Gold Corp. and Alcoa Inc. added at least 1.9 percent as gold reached a record and industrial metals gained. The S&P 500 increased 1.2 percent to 1,106.64 at 9:46 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 96.59 points, or 0.9 percent, to 10,367.06. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index rose 1.2 percent and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index climbed 0.7 percent. “Any good news on the U.S. consumer will be taken very positively,” said Kevin Divney, chief investment officer at Beaconcrest Capital Management in Boston. “There’s more and more focus on it this time of year leading up to the holiday season. So I think any positive consumption there will be taken very, very seriously.” Alcoa Gains U.S. stocks have climbed for two straight weeks as the Group of 20 nations agreed to maintain economic stimulus efforts and profits at companies from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Walt Disney Co. beat analysts’ projections. The S&P 500 has rebounded 63 percent from a 12-year low in March as government stimulus measures and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts helped end a four-quarter contraction in the world’s largest economy. The 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group, which represents 54 percent of the global economy, said in Singapore that it will maintain stimulus measures until there is “durable” growth. They did not mention currency distortions, which U.S. companies say give China unfair trade advantages. “You have a world of policy leaders that think it’s too early to withdraw monetary stimulus,” said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Co. in New York. The Dollar Index, a six-currency measure of the greenback’s strength, fell 0.4 percent to 75.005, adding to a two-week retreat. Nordstrom gained 2.4 percent to $34.81. The U.S. department-store chain with more than 100 namesake locations was raised to buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs, which said the company “is a key beneficiary of a recovering high end consumer.” Commodities Gain Alcoa climbed 1.9 percent to $13.43 as base metal prices increased on the London Metal Exchange. Barrick Gold, the world’s largest producer of the precious metal, gained 2.1 percent to $43.77. Gold climbed to a record $1,133.50 an ounce as investors stepped up purchases of the precious metal on speculation that the dollar will extend a decline. Newmont Mining Corp. advanced 2.1 percent to $52.08. The largest U.S. gold producer said the sale of a 10 percent stake in its Indonesian venture will be completed today. Per-share earnings have topped estimates at 80 percent of S&P 500 companies that have released results, a record in Bloomberg data going back to 1993, even as profits slumped for a record ninth straight quarter. Dell Inc. rose 2 percent to $15.71. The personal-computer maker expanding into mobile phones was restarted “buy” at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which said the company will be a “key beneficiary of the PC upgrade cycle.” To contact the reporter on this story: Sapna Maheshwari at smaheshwar11@bloomberg.net.

Source