US stocks rise to cap a week of record swings in index

US STOCKS rose yesterday, capping a week of record swings for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as an increase in retail sales tempered concern the economy is slowing.

The S&P 500, which fell or rose at least 4.4% in the previous four sessions, climbed 0.5% to 1,178.8 in New York to trim its weekly drop to 1.7%.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index jumped 3.7% as banks climbed for a second day, surging 4.5% as a group after sinking 6.7% on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year treasury note fell 10 basis points to 2.24%. The Swiss franc slid against all 16 of its most-traded peers.

About $6.8 trillion was wiped off the value of global equity markets from July 26 to yesterday after S&P downgraded US debt for the first time and Europe’s debt crisis deepened.

Retail sales climbed in July by the most in four months. The 0.5% increase followed a 0.3% increase in June.

“You’ve got a couple of positive data points over the past week, including retail sales,” said Stephen Wood, who helps to oversee $163 billion as the New York-based chief market strategist for Russell Investments.

“Any information about the health of the consumer is important,” he said. “The short-selling ban in Europe may be providing some temporary relief to the market today. But it’s mostly another attempt to buy time to address larger structural issues.”

The swings in US equities this week were unprecedented in the history of their stock market&.

The S&P 500 plunged 6.7% on Monday, its biggest slump since December 2008, in the first trading session after the US was stripped of its triple-A credit rating at S&P.

The index rebounded 4.7% the next day as the Federal Reserve said it will leave its benchmark interest rate at a record low through at least the middle of 2013.

The gauge then fell 4.4% on Wednesday, rebounding 4.6% yesterday. Never before has the index reversed moves that large each day over four sessions.

The S&P 500 capped its first back-to-back gains since July but is down about 14% from a three-year high at the end of April.

A gauge of retailers in the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%, as 26 of its 30 stocks advanced. Caterpillar added 2.9%, pacing gains among companies most-tied to the economy. Hewlett Packard rose 4.1% after Jefferies Group raised its recommendation for shares.

US consumer confidence has plunged to the lowest level since May 1980, adding to concern that weak employment gainsand volatility in the stock market will prompt households to retrench.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment slumped to 54.9 from 63.7 the prior month.

France’s stock market regulator, meanwhile, has opened an investigation into speculation that affected trading in shares of Societe Generale. On Wednesday, France’s second-largest bank denied “all market rumours” and asked regulators to open a probe after speculation that France’s creditworthiness was in doubt sent shares tumbling 15%.