US stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a one-month high, as diminishing concern over a military strike against Syria offset Apple Inc.’s biggest decline since April.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 1,689.13 at 4 p.m. in New York, the seventh straight winning session and the highest level since Aug. 13. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which includes IBM and not Apple, jumped 135.54 points, or 0.9%, to 15,326.60, also a one-month peak. About 5.8 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, 4% below the three-month average.
Eight of 10 industries in the S&P 500 advanced, with energy stocks and consumer-staples producers rising at least 0.8%.
“We’re not out of the woods on news from Syria yet, but for the time being the market has digested the decision to delay action,” Russell Croft, who helps manage $900 million as a Croft-Leominster Inc. fund manager in Baltimore, said by phone for Bloomberg. “Right now all eyes are on next week’s Fed meeting, that’ll be the big driver in the market with a few data points between now and then.”
The situation in Syria has recently overshadowed investor concern that the Federal Reserve will pare back its stimulus following its Sept. 17-18 meeting. The central bank is watching economic data as it considers reducing the monthly $85 billion in asset buying.
In corporate news, IBM added 2.2% to $190.70 for the biggest gain in the Dow. The world’s largest computer-services provider agreed to sell the unit to Synnex to focus on more profitable investments. IBM is the largest Dow component by index weight.
Facebook Inc. climbed 3.3% to a record close of $45.04. Investors bet the operator of the world’s most popular social-networking service, will benefit from growing demand for its mobile-advertising products.
Verizon Communications Inc. advanced 0.1% to $46.52. The second-biggest US telephone carrier began selling today $45 billion to $49 billion of bonds, more than twice the size of Apple’s unprecedented $17 billion issue in April, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company is raising money for its $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone Group Plc’s stake in Verizon Wireless.
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