NEW YORK — U.S. stocks on Friday advanced for a second day to tally solid weekly gains but posted the worst month in 21 years, as investors bypassed generally bleak economic data to focus on improvement in the troubled credit markets.
“Investor sentiment has improved, thanks to the steps taken by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department to add liquidity to the system. These moves have unfrozen the credit markets, and they have brought some level of normalcy to the commercial-paper market,” said Robert Pavlik, chief investment officer at Oaktree Asset Management.
The session capped the market’s worst month since October 1987.
Up and down during the morning, the financial- and telecommunication-services sectors helped lift stocks solidly higher by midday, then extended the rise as the day progressed.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 144.32 points to finish at 9,325.01, down 14.1 percent for the month but up 11.3 percent for the week.
All but seven of the blue-chip index’s 30 components ended in the black.
The Dow’s financial components helped pace the rise, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. up about 6.4 percent. General Motors Corp. was the blue-chip index’s biggest decliner, down 4.6 percent.
The S&P 500 Index also shed declines, rising 14.66 points to 968.75, a monthly decline of 16.9 percent and a weekly gain of 10.5 percent.
The Nasdaq composite index climbed 22.43 points to 1,720.95, off 17.7 percent for October but a gain of 10.9 percent from last Friday’s close.
Financials and consumer discretionary shares led gains among the S&P’s 10 industry groups, while utilities fell.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange neared 1.6 billion, with advancers ahead of decliners by a ratio of more than 2-1. On the Nasdaq, almost 1.1 billion shares were exchanged, with advancers topping decliners 3-1.
Among a slew of economic reports, the Commerce Department said U.S. consumer spending in September tallied its largest drop in four years.
A separate report had U.S. consumer sentiment falling in October from the month before to reach a record monthly decline, according to the University of Michigan/Reuters index.
Also, the Chicago Purchasing Managers reported the Chicago Business Barometer plummeted to 37.8 in October, its lowest since 2001.
“Investors have enthusiasm that we’ve shrugged off the credit debacle, there is very little forced selling and the economy is terrible, but investors don’t care,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude-oil futures gained $1.85 to end at $67.81 a barrel, up 2.8 percent.
On the earnings front, oil giant and Dow industrials component Chevron Corp. gained 0.6 percent after reporting third-quarter income rose 114 percent to $7.9 billion.
Washington Post Co.’s third-quarter profit fell sharply from $72.5 million to $10.3 million.
