Dow Jones: 12,426.75 (+32.85) SP 500: 1,335.54 (+2.91) Nasdaq: 2,799.82 (+8.63):STOCKS ROSE yesterday, sending the Standard and Poor's 500 Index to a six-week high, as Cisco Systems led a rally in technology shares.

The euro appreciated to the strongest level in 14 months against the dollar amid speculation the European Central Bank will lift interest rates today.

Cotton rose the exchange limit and copper climbed 2.1 per cent as the SP GSCI Total Return Index of commodities jumped to the highest since 2008.

Gold rose to a record high for a second day. Silver advanced 1 per cent to $39.68 an ounce after reaching $39.7625, the highest price since 1980.

Cisco led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an almost three-year high as Morgan Stanley speculated that the largest maker of networking equipment will spin off or sell its consumer business.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.85 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close at 12,426.75.

The Standard Poor’s 500 Index gained 2.91 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 1,335.54.

The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 8.63 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,799.82.

The SP 500 is trading less than 0.5 per cent below a 32- month high reached in February amid growing confidence that the global economy can continue expanding even after Japan’s worst earthquake on record and a surge in energy prices triggered by uprisings in the Middle East and northern Africa.

Cisco jumped 4.2 per cent after chief executive officer John Chambers told employees that the company would make “a number of targeted moves in coming weeks”.

Broadcom rallied 4.1 per cent after being raised to “outperform” from “market perform” by Oppenheimer.

Monsanto declined 5.7 per cent to $69.16. The company said its fourth-quarter loss will widen because of a fall in agricultural-chemical earnings. Profit excluding some items will rise to $2.72 or $2.82 per share in the 2011 fiscal year, from $2.41 a year earlier, Monsanto said, reiterating a forecast first made in October.

Hewlett-Packard shares rose 2.2 per cent to $41.18.

Microsoft advanced 1.4 per cent to $26.15. – (Bloomberg/ Reuters)