By Rita Nazareth March 30 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index up for a third day, as better- than-forecast data on home prices and consumer confidence bolstered optimism the economic recovery is strengthening. Verizon Communications Inc. rallied 2.4 percent after the Wall Street Journal reported Apple Inc. is developing a version of its iPhone that will work over the Verizon Wireless network. Danaher Corp. advanced 4.3 percent as the maker of Craftsman tools increased its first-quarter profit forecast. Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. climbed after the S&P/Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities and the Conference Board’s consumer sentiment index topped economists’ estimates. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent to 1,177.18 as of 10:04 a.m. in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 35.82 points, or 0.3 percent, to 10,931.68. “Housing has certainly bottomed,” said Stanley Nabi, New York-based vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, which oversees $8.5 billion. “It obviously won’t be a very strong upturn, but things are getting better. The market is not expensive. We expect stocks to deliver at least a 15 percent return over the next 12 months.” U.S. stocks rose yesterday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an 18-month high, after consumer spending increased for a fifth month and European confidence in the economic outlook improved. Four-Quarter Rally The S&P 500 has rallied for the last four weeks, heading for a fourth straight quarterly advance, on speculation the economy is recovering from the worst contraction since the 1930s. Stocks could rise “another 3 to 5 percent,” Russ Koesterich, the San Francisco-based head of investment strategy for scientific active equities at BlackRock Inc., which manages $3.35 trillion in assets, told Bloomberg Television. “If you want to be aggressive, I wouldn’t get short the market right now. There are a couple of things that are still going to support you -- lower rates, good macro environment and earnings estimates for the first quarter.” U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said U.S. employers soon may start hiring again after weathering the worst recession since the Great Depression. “The economy is getting stronger,” Geithner said yesterday in an interview on CNBC. “We’re probably just on the verge now of what we think will be a sustained period of job creation finally.” To contact the reporter on this story: Rita Nazareth in Sao Paulo at rnazareth@bloomberg.net.

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