Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained after a gauge of manufacturing in the Philadelphia region unexpectedly expanded, bolstering optimism the economy can weather Europe’s debt crisis.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.4 percent to 1,214.67 at 10:01 a.m. in New York after drifting between gains and losses before the release of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s econonomic index.

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