U.S. stocks extended a global advance, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to a 13-month high, as China’s industrial production surged and Federal Reserve policy makers signaled interest rates will remain at a record low. Gold climbed to an all-time high.

Bank of America Corp. and Home Depot Inc. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest close since October 2008. Toll Brothers Inc. jumped 16 percent, the most in 17 years, to lead a rally in homebuilders after orders surged and cancellations slowed. Benchmark equity indexes pared gains as a rebound in the dollar snuffed out most of an advance in commodities.

The S&P 500 increased 0.5 percent to 1,098.51 at 4:10 p.m. in New York, its highest close since Oct. 3, 2008. The Dow added 44.29 points, or 0.4 percent, to 10,291.26. Almost two stocks gained for each that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Some 7.8 billion shares changed hands on all U.S. exchanges, 17 percent less than the three-month average as trading slowed on the Veterans Day holiday. The Treasury market was closed.

(Bloomberg.com)