U.S. Stocks Rise on Factory Report; Exxon Mobil, Monsanto Gain

(Bloomberg) - U.S. stocks rose, led by oil companies, after a government report showed orders to petroleum refiners climbed by the most in two years.

Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., the largest U.S. energy producers, gained after the Commerce Department said a 16 percent jump in demand at refiners helped boost factory orders by three times the forecast rate. Monsanto Co., the largest seed maker, led commodity companies to the biggest gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after profit topped analysts' estimates.

The S&P 500 added 4.97, or 0.3 percent, to 1,452.13 as of 11:13 a.m. in New York, following its worst decline in two weeks yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 52.76, or 0.4 percent, to 13,096.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.24, or 0.1 percent, to 2,610.87.

Orders to U.S. factories rose 1.5 percent in November, the most in four months, and were higher in October than first reported, according to the Commerce Department. A report from ADP Employer Services showed companies in the U.S. added 40,000 jobs in December, more than projected. The reports helped assuage concern the U.S. economy is headed for a recession.

``It is a relief to have factory orders not only increase threefold greater than expected but also have a revision up of last month,'' said Thomas Sowanick, who helps manage $10 billion as chief investment officer at Clearbrook Financial LLC in Princeton, New Jersey.

 

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