New York: Stocks and metals rallied and oil halted a five-day slide as better-than-estimated corporate earnings and US retail sales fuelled confidence in the global econ-omic rebound. Treasury 10-year note yields traded near a three-week low as a report showed inflation remained subdued.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index climbed for a fifth straight day, rising 0.4 per cent at 9.57am in New York. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index increased 1.1 per cent, led by a rally in Korea after Moody's Investors Service raised the nation's credit ratings. Nickel and zinc rose 1.7 per cent to lead industrial metals higher in London, while oil climbed above $85 a barrel. Ten-year Treasury yields hovered near 3.8 per cent.

JPMorgan Chase & Co and Intel Corp posted earnings that topped analysts' average estimates, while government data showed US retail sales climbed the most in four months in March and the cost of living excluding food and energy was unchanged. Korea reported its biggest drop in unemployment in a decade and economists predicted China will report its fastest increase in gross domestic product in almost three years today.

Good earnings

"On the corporate front, we got good earnings reports from Intel and JPMorgan," said Peter Jankovskis, who helps manage about $1.8 billion (Dh6.6 billion) as co-chief investment officer at Oakbrook Investments in Lisle, Illinois. "We had pretty good retail sales and CPI numbers. They tell us that the economy is growing without a significant threat of inflation. That gives the Fed room to keep its low interest-rate policy."

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was scheduled to testify before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on the economic outlook. The central bank was to release its Beige Book regional business survey later in the afternoon.

The S&P 500 climbed above 1,200 for the first time since September 2008, the month of Lehman Brothers Inc's bankruptcy. Intel and JPMorgan rallied at least 2.7 per cent for the top gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Combined first-quarter profit for S&P 500 companies increased 30 per cent from a year earlier, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose to the highest level since July 2008. Korea's benchmark rose to the highest since June of that year as Shinhan Financial Group Co, the country's third-biggest financial company, climbed the most in two months. Russia's Micex Index jumped 1.6 per cent as government officials meet with bondholders today for the country's first Eurobond sale since 1998.

The MSCI World Index of 23 developed nations' stocks gained 0.7 per cent as the MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.7 per cent. Samsung Electronics Co, the world's biggest chipmaker after Intel, gained 2.1 per cent in Seoul. Tokyo Electron Ltd advanced 3.6 per cent in Tokyo after the company said orders rose. DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia's biggest bank, climbed 4.6 per cent in Singapore.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index advanced 0.7 per cent as basic- resources and technology shares rallied. Rio Tinto Group gained 1.9 per cent in London.