US stocks rose amid economic data, Syria tensions

U.S. stocks rose, after recording the worst month since May 2012 for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as better-than-forecast economic data overshadowed concern over possible military action against Syria.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4% to 1,639.77 at 4 p.m. in New York, paring an earlier advance of as much as 1.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 23.65 points, or 0.2%, to 14,833.96. About 6.6 billion shares changed hands, the highest level since Aug. 1. U.S. exchanges were closed yesterday for the Labor Day holiday.

“The economy, things are coming in pretty good,” Karyn Cavanaugh, a vice president and market strategist at ING U.S. Investment Management in New York, said in a phone interview for Bloomberg. Her firm oversees about $190 billion. “We know there are a lot tensions in the Middle East. If you wait for the dust to settle in order to get in the market, you’re going to be waiting forever. Look at the fundamentals and if the fundamentals are increasing, that’s your directional signal.”

President Barack Obama won the support of key figures in the U.S. Congress, including Republicans, in his call for limited US strikes on Syria to punish President Bashar al-Assad for his suspected use of chemical weapons against civilians.

Microsoft sank 4.6% to $31.88. The maker of the Windows operating system will pay 3.79 billion euros for Nokia’s devices and 1.65 billion euros for its patents, according to a statement from the companies. Microsoft is deepening a push into hardware as decreasing computer sales sap demand for the programs that made it the world’s largest software maker.

Nokia’s U.S.-traded shares surged 31 percent to $5.12.

Verizon lost 2.9% to $46.01. Verizon will get full control of the most profitable U.S. mobile-phone carrier in the biggest acquisition in more than a decade. The deal, sought by Verizon since at least 2004, implies a total value for Verizon Wireless of almost $290 billion, larger than the market capitalization of Google Inc.

CBS Corp. soared 4.7% after the broadcaster’s programs returned to Time Warner Cable Inc.

Citigroup Inc. gained 2.2% to $49.37. The third-biggest U.S. bank by assets has sold more than $6 billion in private-equity and hedge-fund assets in the past month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the transactions.