Per-share earnings for S&P 500 corporations increased for a ninth straight quarter during the period that ended Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Income dropped 3.3 percent for the MSCI All-Country World Index, the data show.

Emerging Markets

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index climbed 5.9 percent in February and posted its best start to a year in two decades. Dubai's DFM General Index jumped 21 percent, the top gain among benchmark equity gauges in the world's 50 biggest markets, as companies including Emaar Properties PJSC and Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC reported improved earnings. Egypt's EGX 30 Index rose 15 percent, extending this year's rally to 48 percent.

Russia's ruble appreciated 4 percent against the dollar as oil advanced. Indonesia's rupiah weakened 0.3 percent on concern government plans to reduce fuel subsidies will stoke inflation.

Venezuelan dollar bonds led advances among emerging-market government debt, returning 13 percent, as investors speculated President Hugo Chavez may not run in October elections because of cancer, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Global Index. Chavez's government has presided over the region's highest inflation rate and deterred foreign investment by nationalizing companies. Shares of Banco Provincial SA, a Caracas-based lender, rose 42 percent.

Treasuries Decline

U.S. government securities lost 0.5 percent for the month as of Feb. 28, the worst monthly performance since October, according to the U.S. Treasury Master index, as demand for the safest assets waned. This year's declines follow returns of 9.8 percent in 2011, the most in three years.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was at 2.03 percent today, compared with the record low 1.67 percent on Sept. 23, signaling the economic recovery may be poised to weaken even as consumer confidence rises toward pre-recession levels. The U.S. note yield averaged 3.41 percent during the past five years.

Bonds of all types gained 0.33 percent, the Bank of America Global Broad Market Index showed, the least since November. Global sovereign bonds rose 0.1 percent and global corporate securities climbed 1.2 percent, according to the indexes.

Fed Stimulus