Stocks ended a volatile session Thursday with solid gains as investors cheered regulation rollbacks for the big banks.
The Dow Jones Industrials popped 291.37 points, or 1.2%, to finish Thursday at 25,737.31.
The S&P 500 turned green 33.43 points, or 1.1%, to 3,083.76.
The NASDAQ Composite leaped 107.84 points to 10,017.
Wall Street was coming off its worst one-day performance since June 11, with all three major indices falling more than 2% on Wednesday.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission said it would allow banks to more easily make large investments into funds such as venture capital funds. Banks will not have to set aside cash for derivatives traders between different affiliates of the same firm, potentially freeing up more capital.
Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all rose more than 3%. Goldman Sachs also gained 4.6% while Morgan Stanley advanced 3.9%.
Shares of the major banks jumped to their highs of the day in the final hour of trading as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve releasing stress-test results for the major banks. Those results are set for release after the close.
Stocks were lower earlier in the day as investors continued to fret over the rising number of coronavirus cases.
Florida reported on Thursday 5,004 additional coronavirus cases. That’s slightly down from the state’s single-day record of 5,508, reported Wednesday. In Arizona, cases jumped by 5.1%, topping the state’s seven-day average of 2.3%. Meanwhile, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state would pause its reopening plans given the recent spike in cases and hospitalizations.
This recent uptick comes after the U.S. suffered its single-biggest daily coronavirus cases surge on record. More than 45,000 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on Wednesday, a record that surpassed the previous April 26 peak by over 9,000 cases
Numbers out Thursday from the U.S. Labor Department revealed an additional 1.48 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week.
Economists expected a print of 1.35 million. This marks the second straight week that U.S. jobless claims data were worse than expected.
The Trump administration is considering new tariffs on $3.1 billion exports from France, Germany, Spain and the U.K., according to a notice from the U.S. Trade Representative released Tuesday evening. The new duties on olives, beer, gin and trucks can be up to 100%.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury faltered, raising yields to Wednesday’s 0.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.03 to $39.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subsided $2.50 to $1,772.60 U.S. an ounce.
