PERFORMANCE

American stocks gained after a government report showed consumer prices increased less than forecast, signaling the Federal Reserve doesn’t have to accelerate interest rate increases to keep inflation in check. Financial companies such as Bank of America Corp. drove the advance. Procter & Gamble Co. shares had the biggest rally in the Dow Jones Industrial Average after UBS AG upgraded the no. 1 U.S. maker of household goods. The Dow industrials rose 62.59, or 0.6%, to 10,673.79. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 6.64, or 0.6%, to 1190.80. Both recorded their steepest losses since August yesterday as oil prices climbed to a four-month high. Declines in some technology shares including Advanced Micro Devices Inc. weighed on the Nasdaq Composite Index. The benchmark added 0.93, or 0.1%, to 2031.25.

Five stocks were up for every three that were down on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the broadest advance since February 11. About 1.5 billion shares changed hands on the Big Board, in line with the three-month daily average.

– Bloomberg News

WORLDCOM

Federal prosecutors rested their conspiracy and securities fraud case against former WorldCom Inc. CEO Bernard Ebbers today after presenting 14 witnesses over 17 days in New York federal court. The government’s case hinges on the testimony of ex-finance chief Scott Sullivan, who said he told Mr. Ebbers about hidden expenses and overstated revenue at the long-distance company in 2001 and 2002. Mr. Ebbers ordered him to “hit the numbers,” Sullivan said, which the finance chief said he took as license to lie to analysts and investors in an effort to prop up the company’s stock. Mr. Ebbers claims Sullivan masterminded the $11 billion fraud and kept him in the dark. Mr. Ebbers must now decide whether he will testify in his own defense. James Cohen, who teaches at Fordham University School of Law in New York, said defendants usually avoid testifying so as not to provide prosecutors with an opportunity for cross-examination.

– Bloomberg News

VIACOM

Viacom Inc., the no. 3 U.S. press and broadcast company, probably posted a fourth-quarter profit because of increased advertising revenue from its CBS broadcast network and cable television channels. New York-based Viacom, which also owns Showtime, MTV and the Paramount film studio, may report earnings of 38 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 27 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Viacom had a net loss of $385 million a year earlier, when it wrote down the value of Blockbuster Inc., the video rental unit it spun off. Shows including “CSI” have made CBS the most watched U.S. network, according to ratings from New York-based Nielsen Media Research.