Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks extended a global advance, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 13-month high, and commodities rallied as China’s industrial production and Japan’s machinery orders increased. Gold jumped to a record. Bank of America Corp. and Boeing Co. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average above its highest close since October 2008. Barrick Gold Corp., the largest producer of bullion, and Alcoa Inc. climbed with metals prices. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 1.1 percent, lifting its six-day rally to almost 8 percent. The S&P 500 increased 0.6 percent to 1,099.59 at 10:49 a.m. in New York, above its highest close since Oct. 2, 2008. The Dow climbed 49.58 points, or 0.5 percent, to 10,296.55. About three stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. “You got people out there saying the bear market rally’s over,” said Jeffrey Saut, chief investment strategist at Raymond James & Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida, which manages $214 billion. “I think they’re smoking dope.” The S&P 500, which tumbled 38 percent last year, has rebounded 62 percent from a 12-year low in March as government stimulus measures and record-low interest rates helped end a four-quarter contraction in the U.S. economy. Eighty percent of S&P 500 companies that released results have exceeded the average analyst estimate for third quarter earnings, a record in Bloomberg data going back to 1993. ‘Damn the Torpedoes’ Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said yesterday that U.S. economic growth and inflation may persist below ideal levels into 2011, making the central bank’s current interest-rate stance “appropriate.” Fed officials after a meeting last week reiterated a pledge to keep the benchmark interest rate near zero for an “extended period.” “The Fed continues to believe that the biggest economy in the world can’t handle rates above 0.25 percent,” Peter Boockvar, an equity strategist with Miller Tabak & Co., wrote in an e-mail to clients. “’Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead’ will remain policy.” Financial shares in the S&P 500 climbed 2.1 percent, the steepest gain among 10 groups. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. climbed 2.2 percent to $180.42, Bank of America added 2.5 percent to $16.44 and JPMorgan Chase & Co. gained 1.6 percent to $44.86. China, Japan Data The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose for a fourth day, adding 0.7 percent. Production in China rose 16.1 percent from a year before, the most since March 2008, the statistics bureau said today. The trade surplus almost doubled from September, to $24 billion, as a drop in exports eased to the slowest pace this year. Separately, Japanese machinery orders, an indicator of business investment in three to six months, climbed 10.5 percent from a month earlier, according to the Cabinet Office in Tokyo. The median estimate of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 4.1 percent increase. Barrick Gold climbed 1.6 percent to $43.81. Newmont Mining Corp., the largest U.S. gold producer, added 2.8 percent to $51.86. The precious metal rose to a record in London and New York as the dollar fell for a third day, spurring demand for the metal as a hedge against further weakness. Alcoa Inc., the biggest U.S. aluminum producer, gained 1.5 percent to $13.67. U.S. Steel Corp., the largest steelmaker, rose 2.6 percent to $39.08. Exxon Mobil Corp. increased 0.9 percent to $73.24. Chevron Corp., the second-biggest U.S. oil company, climbed 0.8 percent to $78.97. Crude oil advanced as much as 1.3 percent to $80.07 a barrel in New York. Regeneron, Toll Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. rose 17 percent to $18.46. The drugmaker said it expanded its existing agreement with Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis SA to develop drugs to treat pain, cancer and arthritis in a deal worth up to $1.28 billion. Toll Brothers Inc. jumped 14 percent to $20.95. The nation’s largest luxury homebuilder said orders surged 42 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter as cancellations slowed and revenue beat analysts’ estimates. The stock was raised to “outperform” from “market perform” by Wells Fargo & Co., which said Toll “has dwindling competition in its customer niche and substantial presence in the supply-constrained Northeast.” Flowers Foods Inc. dropped 7.3 percent to $22.13. The baker with brands such as Nature’s Own reported third-quarter earnings that trailed the average analyst estimate. The company forecast adjusted earnings for 2009 of at most $1.40 a share, lower than the average analyst estimate of $1.43. Macy’s Inc. fell 5.4 percent to $18.38. The second-biggest U.S. department-store reported a third-quarter loss and forecast full-year earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates as sales fell. Optimism Rises Investors are growing more optimistic about U.S. equities for the first time since August as a record number of companies beat profit estimates and worker productivity, manufacturing and home sales exceed forecasts. Users in Brazil, Germany, Spain and Switzerland also became more bullish, according to the Bloomberg Professional Confidence Survey conducted from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6. The 1,232 responses were collected as the MSCI World index snapped a two-week losing streak and the S&P 500 rebounded from its first monthly drop since February. To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Childs in New York at mchilds4@bloomberg.net.

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