US stocks rise a second straight day, overriding inflation fears

Wall Street appeared to be regaining its equilibrium at the end of the biggest retreat in 11 weeks.

U.S. stocks rose and Treasury yields declined for a second consecutive day as more-tempered commodity prices helped allay concerns about inflation risks. Energy and technology shares led the S&P 500, which tumbled Wednesday by the most since February. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 outperformed the broader index, suggesting a market recovery is gaining momentum, after a bruising week that saw gathering price pressures hit equities. Both indexes still finished the week in the red. An advance in European stocks was led by cyclical industries. MSCI Inc.’s Asia-Pacific share gauge advanced more than 1%. “People are very optimistic economically,” said Simon Maughan, head of trading alpha at Liquidnet. “Between now and the end of the year, the market is still on the upward trajectory. Clearly sentiment is extremely optimistic about pent-up demand.”