Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks fluctuated after International Business Machines Corp.’s board approved $5 billion in additional funds for buybacks and oil rebounded, offsetting an unexpected slump in consumer confidence. IBM added 1 percent after adding to the $4.2 billion left in its original share repurchase program. Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. climbed at least 1.9 percent as crude gained on increased optimism the economy is emerging from the worst recession since the 1930s. “There’s good data and there’s bad data,” said Michael Levine, a money manager at New York-based OppenheimerFunds Inc., which oversees about $165 billion. “Buybacks are a sign of strength in corporate balance sheets, but at some point we’ll want to see companies reinvesting in their businesses and growing their top-line.” The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added less than 0.1 percent to 1,067.73 at 11:22 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 43.83 points, or 0.4 percent, to 9,911.79. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 0.5 percent to 2,132.2. About five stocks fell for every four that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 erased a gain of as much as 0.5 percent after the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence unexpectedly decreased in October. The S&P 500 has rallied 58 percent from a 12-year low on March 9 amid growing confidence a U.S. economic recovery will drive profit growth. IBM, the world’s largest computer-services provider, gained 1 percent to $121.32. Verizon Climbs Verizon Communications Inc. added 1.7 percent to $29.13. The second-largest U.S. phone company was raised to “outperform” at Wells Fargo & Co., which said “wireline margins troughed in Q3 and should be a driver of upside going forward.” Jeremy Grantham, the chief investment strategist at Boston- based Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co., said stocks will “drop painfully from current levels” in the coming year amid disappointing economic data and profits as margins shrink. The benchmark S&P 500 for U.S. equities fell 1.2 percent to 1,066.95 yesterday, higher than Grantham’s estimate for its so-called fair value at 860. Grantham said his firm has recently reduced equity holdings from a “neutral” 65 percent weighting in its portfolio to 62 percent, leaving “room to pull back further” should markets continue to climb. To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in New York at rnazareth@bloomberg.net

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