U.S. Stocks Rally, Dow Tops 9,000 for First Time Since January (Matt Townsend)

July 23 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 9,000 for the first time since January, as EBay Inc., Ford Motor Co. and AT&T Inc. posted better-than-estimated results and home resales increased more than forecast.

EBay rallied 7.5 percent as its earnings signaled consumers’ appetite for online commerce is starting to recover. Ford jumped 7.7 percent after topping analyst estimates by paring expenses and adding market share. AT&T added 1.6 percent as new customers of Apple Inc.’s iPhone bolstered profit. D.R. Horton Inc. led homebuilders higher after sales of existing homes increased for a third straight month.

The S&P 500 advanced 1.4 percent to 967.53 at 10:32 a.m. in New York, the highest level since Nov. 4. The Dow gained 120.08 points, or 1.4 percent, to 9,001.34 and climbed as high as 9,011.7. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 1.5 percent for a 12th straight gain, its longest streak since 1992. Benchmark regional indexes for Asia and Europe also rose.

“Relative to the estimates, it looks like they are doing well,” said Stephen Wood, who helps manage $136 billion as chief market strategist for North America at Russell Investments in New York. “Part of that is an expectations game. Analyst estimates tend to lag, so some of that is a catch-up.”

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