U.S. stocks advanced

U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index toward its fourth weekly rally, after data showing stronger-than-forecast growth in payrolls last month bolstered optimism in the world’s largest economy.

Equities rose today amid the best six-month streak of job growth since 2006. The 227,000 increase in payrolls last month topped the median projection of economists. The jobless rate held at 8.3 percent. The latest pickup in employment may not be convincing enough for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who last week said the labor market remains “far from normal,” a sign policy makers continue to see merit in keeping interest rates low for several years.

Investors also watched developments in Europe’s attempts to tame its debt crisis. Greece pushed through the biggest sovereign restructuring in history after cajoling private investors to forgive more than 100 billion euros ($132 billion) of debt, opening the way for a second rescue package.

Dow 12,953.39     +45.45 +0.35%, Nasdaq      2,993.20       +22.78 +0.77%, S&P 500   1,374.25       +8.34         +0.61%

JPMorgan (JPM) advanced 2.3 percent, the most in the Dow, to $41.35. Citigroup increased 2.1 percent to $34.70.

Monster Worldwide, an online recruiting service, rallied 4.8 percent to $9.02.

Lennar increased 4.8 percent to $25.87, while D.R. Horton climbed 6.3 percent to $15.48. The shares were raised to the equivalent of buy at Credit Suisse.

Pall Corp. fell 3.1 percent, the most in the S&P 500, to $59.28. The supplier of filters for drugmakers and refineries was cut to neutral by Wedbush Securities, citing softness in markets including China.