U.S. stocks rose, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 9,000 for the first time since January, as EBay Inc., Ford Motor Co. and AT&T Inc. posted better?than?estimated results and home resales increased more than forecast.

US existing home sales notched their third monthly rise in June in a sign the housing industry was slowly healing, but new jobless claims rose last week in a move distorted by unusual seasonal layoffs. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that sales in June rose 3.6% to an annual rate of 4.89 mn units, from a downwardly revised 4.72 mn pace in May. Last month’s reading compared with forecasts for a 4.84 mn unit annual pace.

The Bank of Canada declared Canada's recession to be virtually over on Thursday and raced ahead of a cautious central banker pack with a mostly upbeat view on the world economy. The worst?case scenario of global financial disaster has been "taken off the table", Governor Mark Carney said after the central bank released a surprisingly rosy quarterly outlook.

EBay rallied 11% as its earnings signaled consumers’ appetite for online commerce is starting to recover. Ford jumped 9.4% after topping analyst estimates by paring expenses and adding market share. AT&T added 2.6% as new customers of Apple Inc.’s iPhone bolstered profit. D.R. Horton Inc. led all 13 stocks in an index of homebuilders higher as sales of existing homes increased for a third straight month. Citigroup Inc. raised its 2009 and 2010 profit estimates for the S&P 500 by 9.8% and 11% respectively, citing better?than?expected earnings.

Samsung Electronics Co., Asia’s biggest maker of chips, flat?screens and mobile phones, reported an unexpected increase in profit, helped by a recovery in demand for liquid?crystal?display televisions and handsets.

Asian stocks rose for a ninth day, giving the MSCI Asia Pacific Index its longest winning streak since 2004, as sales of existing U.S. homes climbed and South Korea’s economy grew at the fastest pace in almost six years.

South Korea’s economy expanded at the fastest pace in almost six years last quarter as a jump in exports and household spending cemented a recovery. GDP rose 2.3% from the Q1, when the nation skirted a recession by growing 0.1%, the Bank of Korea said today in Seoul. That was better than the 2.2% growth estimated by economists.