U. S. stocks rose, extending the Dow Jones Industrial Average's longest rally in two years as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said there are signs the economy is stabilizing. Treasuries climbed the most in two weeks and the dollar gained.

Financial shares slid, limiting the market's advance, after CIT Group Inc. said it may need to file for bankruptcy if a debt? swap fails and Regions Financial Corp. and Zions Bancorporation posted quarterly losses.

Bernanke told Congress that the economy is showing "tentative signs of stabilization," and that "limited inflation pressures" will allow policy makers to keep interest rates near zero for an "extended period."

Yahoo! Inc., owner of the second most popular U. S. search engine, forecast third? quarter sales that missed analysts' estimates after an online advertising slowdown cut into revenue. The shares fell 2.9 percent.

Revenue will be $1.45 billion to $1.55 billion in the current quarter, Yahoo said today in a statement.

About 77 percent of the 94 Standard & Poor's 500 companies reporting results beat earnings projections for the second quarter, pushing the index toward the highest proportion of positive surprises for any quarter in Bloomberg data stretching back to 1993. Secondquarter profit at the companies that have reported to date declined an average of 26 percent from a year earlier.

Most Asian stocks rose, led by material producers after Shin? Etsu Chemical Co. said it will seek a price increase. Banks fell as National Australia Bank Ltd. said it will sell stock. Shin? Etsu Chemical, the world's largest maker of silicon wafers, climbed 5.1 percent in Tokyo after saying its unit will start talks with chipmakers for a price increase.