Stocks in U.S. Have Biggest Three-Day Gain Since November; Banks, GE Climb (Rita Nazareth)

  March 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks advanced for a third day as General Electric Co. said the loss of its top credit rating at Standard & Poor’s won’t hurt business and Bank of America Corp. said it was profitable in January and February.

  GE added 14 percent after losing the AAA ranking that it held since 1956, while Bank of America Corp. surged 16 percent. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. rose 3.2 percent after the government said retail sales beat estimates, indicating the biggest part of the economy is stabilizing. General Motors Corp. jumped 12 percent after saying it won’t need U.S. aid this month. Pfizer Inc. rallied 8.4 percent following success in a drug trial.

  The S&P 500 Index increased 3.6 percent to 747.15 at 2:49 p.m. in New York, giving it the biggest three-day rally since November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 218.15 points, or 3.2 percent, to 7,148.55. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies advanced 6.1 percent to 388.65.

  U.S. stocks have risen 10.5 percent since the S&P 500 dipped to a 12-year low of 676.53 on March 9. Bank of America joined two of its biggest competitors, JPMorgan and Citigroup Inc., in saying this week that it made money during the first two months of the year, rebounding from the worst year for financial institutions since the Great Depression.

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