U.S. Stocks Advance Following Biggest Drop Since 2011 | Inyoung Hwang

Created by : Francis Goodwin View profile

stocks-rise June 21, 2013 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced Friday, rebounding following the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index’s biggest drop since November 2011 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank may phase out stimulus.

Consumer-staples, utility and health-care shares rose the most out of 10 S&P 500 groups, while technology and raw-material companies retreated. Procter & Gamble Co. and Coca-Cola Co. gained at least 1.6 percent, pacing advances among the largest U.S. companies. Oracle Corp. tumbled 9.3 percent after reporting a second straight quarter of sales that missed estimates.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent to 1,592.43 in New York at 4 p.m., after fluctuating between gains and losses during the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41.08 points, or 0.3 percent, to 14,799.40. About 10.7 billion shares traded hands on U.S. exchanges, the highest since October 2011, as futures and options contracts expire today in a process known as quadruple witching that can lead to unpredictable price swings.