U.S. Stocks Rise on Earnings Optimism; Nordstrom, Nucor Climb (Michael Patterson)

  U.S. stocks rallied for a second day this week after luxury retailers said sales exceeded forecasts and earnings prospects for raw-material producers and carmakers improved.

  March 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rallied for a second day this week after luxury retailers said sales exceeded forecasts and earnings prospects for raw-material producers and carmakers improved.

  Nordstrom Inc. led the Standard & Poor's 500 Index's rise after the department-store chain said sales surged 9.1 percent in February. Nucor Corp. shares posted their biggest gain since December after the second-largest U.S. steel producer forecast earnings above some estimates, while Ford Motor Co. climbed the most in four months on an upgrade from Credit Suisse Group.

  The advance this week helped U.S. stocks recoup more than a third of their losses generated from a global rout in equities beginning Feb. 27. The earnings outlook was buoyed by a Bloomberg survey showing economists expect the economy to strengthen and overcome slumps in housing and investment.

  ``After the craziness of last week, people will come back to the fundamentals and they'll look at how companies are actually performing,'' said Hans Olsen, who helps oversee more than $2 billion as chief investment officer at Bingham Legg Advisers LLC in Boston. ``Earnings are still good, the economy is still growing.''

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