U.S. stocks rose, adding to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s best two?week rally since 2000, as the biggest jump in new?home sales in eight years. The S&P 500 added 0.3 % to 982.18 at 4:10 p.m. in New York, the highest level since Nov. 4.

Treasuries in US fell, pushing the yield on the 10?year note to the highest in over a month, as the U.S. began selling a record $115 billion in notes. The yield on the benchmark 10?year note rose six basis points, or 0.06 %age point, to 3.72 % at 2:55 p.m. in New York. The dollar traded near the lowest level this year against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners. The Dollar Index, which the ICE uses to track the greenback against currencies including the euro, yen, pound and Swedish krona, was little changed at 78.630 at 2:56 p.m. in New York, after earlier falling as much as 0.5 % to 78.396. It reached 78.334 on June 2, the lowest level since falling to 77.688 on Dec. 18.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pledged to rein in the U.S. deficit as China underscored its concern about preserving the value of $801.5 billion of Treasury holdings. The U.S. will ensure a “sustainable” deficit by 2013. “The Chinese are trapped with supporting the value of the dollar,” “If they withdrew from the market, there’s a big appreciation” of the yuan as a result that would send China’s exports down, he said.

Chinese foreign? exchange reserves surpassed $2 trillion for the first time in the second quarter, and its holdings of Treasuries reached $801.5 billion in May, about 100 % more than at the start of 2007. Asian bank and steel stocks climbed, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific Index for an 11th day, on brokerage upgrades ahead of earnings announcements. Energy companies declined. JFE, which is due to release quarterly earnings today, climbed 3.3 % to 3,420 yen. Sanyo Special Steel Co. jumped 6.3 % to 372 yen. Goldman lifted shares of both companies to “buy.”

Bank of China Ltd., which doled out the most loans among Chinese banks in the first half, plans to keep growing credit unless the government clamps down on lending.

India’s central bank may signal that its sharpest round of interest?rate cuts has come to an end by keeping borrowing costs unchanged at a meeting today. The Reserve Bank of India will hold its reverse repurchase rate at 3.25 %, according to 20 of 23 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.