U.S. stocks rose, extending the market’s best monthly gain since 1987, on better-than-estimated earnings at Best Buy Co. and ConAgra Foods Inc. and prospects for lower labor costs at General Motors Corp. Best Buy, the nation’s largest electronics retailer, jumped 11 percent and ConAgra, the maker of Banquet frozen dinners and Slim Jim meat snacks, rose 3.3 percent. GM climbed 11 percent as the company persuaded more than 6,000 union workers to take buyouts, according to people familiar with the matter. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1 percent to 821.81 as of 9:36 a.m. in New York. The gauge is up almost 12 percent in March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 80.93 points, or 1 percent, to 7,830.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 1.4 percent to 1,550.05. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see this rally take the S&P up to 1,000,” said Tom Wirth, senior investment officer at Chemung Canal Trust Co., which manages $1.5 billion in Elmira, New York. “It’s been one data point after another that’s come in better than expected.” Stocks added to gains from yesterday that were triggered by government data showing unexpected growth in durable-good orders and new-home sales. Those reports tempered reaction to Commerce Department data today that said the economy shrank last quarter at a 6.3 percent annual pace, more than previously estimated while less than the average forecast in a Bloomberg survey. European stocks retreated after U.K. retail sales posted the smallest annual increase in more than 13 years last month. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.4 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index increased 1.5 percent. Mobile Phones, Fiddle Faddle Best Buy climbed $3.62 to $37.08. The company said fourth- quarter profit fell less than analysts estimated with results helped by mobile-phone sales in Europe. ConAgra climbed 51 cents to $16.07. The company, which also makes Egg Beaters, Fiddle Faddle popcorn and Fleischmann’s margarine, cut prices for Banquet frozen dinners and cooking oil after record high commodity prices receded and consumers moved to discounted brands. GM climbed 24 cents to $3.23. The biggest U.S. automaker will announce the buyout participation today, said people familiar with the results, who asked to go unnamed because the tally is unofficial. GM and UAW spokesmen are not commenting on buyout totals until the data is released. The S&P 500 has surged 21 percent since March 9 amid speculation Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s plan to help investors buy toxic assets will revive credit markets. The S&P 500 Financials Index, a gauge of 81 banks, insurers and investment firms, has jumped 56 percent since its low on March 6. ‘Bear-Market Rally’ The gain in global equities this month is a “bear-market rally,” said Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted last year’s economic crisis. Economists’ forecasts are “way too optimistic,” earnings will “surprise on the downside” and some large banks may go “belly up,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview in London today. U.S. investors put $5.61 billion into stock and bond mutual funds in the week ended March 18, the most since January, reversing course as the markets had their biggest surge in more than 70 years. Investors put $5.64 billion in bond funds during the week and removed $232 million from stock funds, according to data from the Investment Company Institute. A week earlier, they deposited $901 million in bond accounts and pulled $22.11 billion from stock accounts, the largest such withdrawal in five months, statistics from the Washington-based trade group show. The S&P 500 is still down 9.1 percent this year after tumbling 38 percent in 2008, its worst annual return since the Great Depression.

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