U.S. stocks rose, sending benchmark indexes higher for a second day, as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s offer to resign boosted optimism the nation will appoint a new leader who can tame the debt crisis. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 1.2 percent to 1,275.91 as of 4 p.m. New York time, according to preliminary closing data. The benchmark measure has risen 1.8 percent in two days. “There’s an acceptance that Italy has to take this medicine,’’ said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer for Chicago-based Harris Private Bank.
For more from BostonGlobe.com, sign up or log in below
To continue, please sign up or log in to BostonGlobe.com
Access the full articles and quality reporting of The Boston Globe at BostonGlobe.com
Sign up
Unlimited Access to BostonGlobe.com for 4 weeks for only 99¢.
Are you a Boston Globe home delivery subscriber?
Get FREE access as part of your print subscription.
BostonGlobe.com subscriber
Click to continue reading this article or to log in to BostonGlobe.com.
