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Stocks rose on Friday after a slew of positive corporate news that included strong bank earnings and Disney unveiling a new streaming service.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average spiked 251.86 points, or nearly 1%, to 26,394.91
The S&P 500 added 19.07 points to 2,907.39, due to gains in the financials and energy sectors.
The NASDAQ Composite gained 36.31 points to 7,983.67
J.P. Morgan Chase kicked off the corporate earnings season on Friday by reporting better-than-expected results. The company said "impact of higher rates" boosted its results, along with its fixed-income trading revenues. Wall Street cheered J.P. Morgan’s report, sending the stock up 4.2%.
Wells Fargo also reported better-than-expected results on the back of its consumer lending business; the stock rose 0.8%.
Investors came into the season expecting it to be a tough one for companies. Experts expected first-quarter earnings to have fallen 4.2% in the first quarter.
Disney shares added to the gains, rising more than 10% after the media giant unveiled a streaming service at a lower price point than Netflix. Shares of Netflix, meanwhile, dipped 2.9%.
Sentiment was also boosted on Friday by a massive deal in the energy sector. Dow member Chevron announced plans to acquire Anadarko Petroleum for $33 billion in cash and stock. The deal values Anadarko at a 37% premium from the stock’s close on Thursday. Anadarko shares jumped 32% while Chevron fell 5%.
Friday’s gains put the S&P 500 on pace for its third consecutive weekly gain. On top of Friday’s deluge of corporate news, investors digested the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes from its March meeting as well as further progress on U.S.-China trade talks.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury faltered, raising yields to 2.55% from Thursday’s 2.50%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices recovered 40 cents to $63.98 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices regained $3.80 to $1,297.10 U.S. an ounce.
