Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained for the first time in three days as consumer spending and orders for durable goods topped economists’ forecasts, easing concern that the recession will cause corporate revenue to plummet.

Deere & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. rose at least 2 percent following the Commerce Department data. Micron Technology Inc., the largest U.S. producer of memory chips, climbed 9.8 percent after reporting sales that topped projections. Prologis, the world’s biggest warehouse owner, rallied 31 percent as analysts advised buying the shares after the company sold assets to shore up its balance sheet.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.6 percent to 868.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 48.99 points, or 0.6 percent, to 8,468.48. The Russell 2000 Index of small companies increased 0.4 percent. About 3.63 billion shares changed hands in the U.S., the least since Dec. 26, 2003, as trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market ended three hours early before the Christmas holiday.

Read the rest of the story......