S&P 500 tops 1,400 amid better-than-estimated economic reports

U.S. stocks advanced, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index above 1,400 for the first time in almost four years, as data showed manufacturing in the New York region unexpectedly increased and jobless claims declined. The S&P 500 added 0.6 percent to 1,402.23 at 4 p.m. New York time, according to preliminary closing data, topping strategists’ median estimate of 1,400 for 2012.