* Materials firms rise on growing commodity demand
* Retailers Best Buy, Kroger miss estimates
* Dow up 0.6 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq up 0.5 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click STXNEWS/US
(Updates prices, adds Adobe Systems, volume)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday
to 2009 highs after stronger manufacturing and retail sales
data boosted commodity prices and shares of materials
companies.
Tuesday's gains lifted the S&P 500 above the 1,050 level
for the first time since early October.
The improvement in retail sales in August reassured
investors about a rebound in U.S. economic demand. A rise in
the government's Producer Price Index signaled increased
consumption of raw materials. For details see [].
Metals prices rose, sending shares of aluminum company
Alcoa <AA.N> up 8.1 percent to $13.99, while steelmaker AK
Steel <AKS.N> rose 5.7 percent to $23.11 and US Steel <X.N>
gained 4.8 percent to $48.98.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index of commodity prices <.CRB>
jumped 2.2 percent for its biggest gain in more than a month,
while the S&P materials sector <.GSPM> added 2.3 percent.
The rise in producer prices and a report showing stronger
New York state manufacturing suggested demand is building for
raw materials.
"To make things, you need stuff that comes from the ground,
at least at the beginning of a recovery from recession," said
Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt
Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
The Dow Jones industrial average <> rose 56.61 points,
or 0.59 percent, to close at 9,683.41. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> gained 3.29 points, or 0.31 percent, to
1,052.63. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> added 10.86
points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,102.64.
Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that the
recession was probably at an end also favored basic materials
companies, Caughey said.
Bernanke, speaking on the one-year anniversary of the
collapse of Lehman Brothers <LEHMQ.PK>, said the recession "is
very likely over." For more on the Lehman anniversary see
[].
A stronger-than-expected rise in retail sales
notwithstanding, shares of retailers got hit by disappointing
results from Best Buy Co Inc <BBY.N> and Kroger Co <KR.N>, both
of which reported quarterly profits below expectations.
Shares of electronics store Best Buy fell 5.2 percent to
$38.32 while grocer Kroger slid 7.5 percent to $20.46. The S&P
Retail index <.RLX> was down 0.14 percent.
Shares of General Electric <GE.N> jumped 4.2 percent to
$16, helped by an upwardly revised price target from Bernstein
Research.
The conglomerate's sharp rebound -- of about 140 percent
from its 2009 closing low -- could be a harbinger of more gains
for the broader stock market in the months ahead, said Richard
Ross, global technical strategist at Auerbach Grayson.
After the closing bell, Adobe Systems Inc <ADBE.O>
announced a $1.8 billion deal to buy business software maker
Omniture Inc <OMTR.O> in an effort to counter falling sales
from its Photoshop and Acrobat programs. [].
Adobe shares fell 3.8 percent to $34.25 in extended
trading, while Omniture jumped more than 25 percent to $21.75
on the Nasdaq.
The Nasdaq got a boost after analysts' upgrades of Web
auctioneer eBay <EBAY.O> and Internet company Yahoo <YHOO.O>.
Yahoo shares climbed 5.4 percent to $16.41 while eBay added 1.3
percent to $24.14.
Volume was near average on the New York Stock Exchange,
with 1.5 billion shares changing hands, in line with last
year's estimated daily average of 1.49 billion. On the Nasdaq
about 2.4 billion shares traded, above last year's daily
average of 2.28 billion.
Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by
a ratio of about 12 to 5, while on the Nasdaq, about 7 stocks
rose for every 5 that fell.
(Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Kenneth
Barry)
