S&P 500 Gains Most in Year Amid Earnings, ECB Speculation

U.S. stocks extended a rebound, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rallying the most in a year, as speculation grew the European Central Bank is buying bonds and corporate results beat estimates. The euro weakened while gold paced gains among commodities.

The S&P 500 surged 2 percent at 4 p.m. in New York, extending a four-day rally to 4.2 percent. The gauge has jumped 6.6 percent from its intraday low on Oct. 15. Apple Inc. gained 2.7 percent, sending the Nasdaq 100 Index 2.6 percent higher for its best day since January 2013. Yahoo! Inc. added 4 percent in late trading after reporting results. The Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index climbed 0.7 percent as gold climbed to a five-week high. The Chicago Board Options Volatility Index, or VIX, extended its slide to 38 percent in the last four days.