S&P 500 snaps 3-day slump on better-than-forecast data

LONDON. May 16. KAZINFORM U.S. stocks advanced, snapping a three-day decline in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, as better- than-estimated reports on housing starts and industrial production bolstered confidence in the world's largest economy.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC) rallied at least 1.6 percent to pace gains in financial companies. General Motors Co. climbed 3.7 percent as Berkshire Hathaway Inc. disclosed a stake. General Electric Co. (GE) rose 2 percent as its finance unit plans to pay a special dividend of $4.5 billion to the parent company. Target Corp. (TGT) , the second-largest U.S. discount retailer, added 2 percent as profit topped estimates.

The S&P 500 increased 0.7 percent to 1,340.01 at 9:51 a.m. New York time. The benchmark gauge for American equities had dropped 2 percent over the previous three days amid concern Greece will leave the euro. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 74.85 points, or 0.6 percent, to 12,706.85 today.

"The U.S. economic data is consistent with the bottom not falling out of the equity market," Barry Knapp, the New York- based head of U.S. equity strategy at Barclays Plc, said in a telephone interview. "Yet the situation in Europe is extremely precarious. Everybody wants Greece to stay in the euro, but does Greece want to stay? More needs to be done. You can't have a lot of confidence that assets will stabilize."

Equities gained as data showed output at factories, mines and utilities increased 1.1 percent last month, the most since December 2010, after a 0.6 percent decline in March that was revised from no change. Economists forecast a 0.6 percent gain. Earlier today, a report signaled that the residential real estate industry is stabilizing

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