NEW YORK — U.S. stocks rose, after equities capped their worst quarter since 2012, as investors awaited Thursday’s monthly jobs report amid signs of a strengthening labor market.
Financial shares in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained the most in three weeks as Chubb Corp. surged 26 percent after Ace Ltd. agreed to buy the insurer for $28.3 billion in cash and stock. Travelers Cos. gained 2.7 percent, the most since January.
Energy companies retreated 1.3 percent after the price of oil fell sharply following an Energy Department report that crude inventories rose for the first time in eight weeks.
Analysts had forecast supplies would drop by 1.3 million barrels, but instead they increased by 2.4 million barrels, according to the Energy Department’s weekly petroleum status report.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell $2.51 to close at $56.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell $1.58 to close at $62.01 a barrel in London.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 14.31 points, or 0.7 percent, to 2,077.42. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 138.40 points, or 0.8 percent, to 17,757.91. The Nasdaq composite gained 26.26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,013.12.
A report Wednesday showed companies in the U.S. boosted employment in June by 237,000, the most in six months. The June gain exceeded the Bloomberg median survey of economists that called for a 218,000 advance. The government’s monthly payrolls report Thursday is forecast by economists to show 233,000 jobs added in June, after a 280,000 increase in May.
The Associated Press and Bloomberg News contributed to this report.
