US stocks advance on positive earnings amid Fed meeting

U.S. stocks jumped, with Standard & Poors 500 benchmark index climbing to record, as earnings beat estimates and data indicating slower growth assured investors that the Federal Reserve will maintain stimulus program.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.6% to 1,771.95 at 4 p.m. in New York, hitting its third straight record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 0.7%, to 15,680.35, pushing beyond its all-time closing high from September 18. About 6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the the three-month average. The Nasdaq Composite was frozen for nearly an hour during yesterdays trade after Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. experienced issues transmitting data for stock-market indexes. Trading in Nasdaq-listed stocks wasnt impacted.

“It still seems that the Fed has created this good news is bad news, bad news is good news scenario,” Randy Bateman, who oversees $15 billion as chief investment officer of Huntington Asset Advisors in Columbus, Ohio, said by telephone to Bloomberg. “The anticipation is that the Fed will retain its purchasing of $85 billion in monthly Treasury and mortgage securities, which is going to continue to help the housing market. That will be taken fairly well by the market.”

In corporate news, Apple shares slid more than 2% after the technology giant said it sold 33.8 million iPhones last quarter, up 26% from a year earlier. Earnings per share exceeded expectations and revenue rose more than forecast. The companys revenue outlook for the current quarter was slightly higher than analysts had projected.

Pfizer gained 1.7% to $31.25. Higher sales of its top vaccine and pain drugs also boosted profit. Pfizer is pushing to expand sales of Prevnar, a pneumococcal vaccine and its second-biggest product, since losing marketing exclusivity for Lipitor, once the world’s top-selling drug.

Xylem surged 12% to $32.53 for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. A 6% rise in orders in the third quarter, an ozone project in China and a pumping and control system for the Singapore Transport Authority were in the core of Xylem post earnings and sales that beat analysts’ estimates.