US stocks close higher after solid bank earnings
Wall Street stocks rose on Tuesday, with the Dow advancing for the seventh straight session, as solid banking earnings helped extend a market rally. Shares of Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Charles Schwab all surged after their results topped estimates. "The theme for today with the banks is 'better than feared,'" said Steve Sosnick of Interactive Brokers. "Unless the news is actively disappointing, everything is being taken as good news." Sosnick described the market as in "a full-fledged rally mode." The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.1 percent at 34,951.93. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.7 percent to 4,554.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.8 percent to 14,353.64. US retail sales rose 0.2 percent to US$689.5 billion last month, weaker than expected, while May's figure was revised slightly higher. Morgan Stanley shares surged 6.5 percent after reporting better-than-expected profits, saying the quarter "started with macroeconomic uncertainties and subdued client activity, but ended with a more constructive tone." Trading revenues fell sharply however, with fixed income trading tumbling 31 percent from the year-ago period. Bank of America climbed 4.4 percent after reporting a 19 percent jump in quarterly profits to US$7.4 billion, on growth in income tied to interest rate increases and loan growth. Microsoft shares jumped 4.0 percent after announcing a number of new artificial intelligence initiatives, including a US$30 per month subscription service to commercial customers. The service will be able to analyse data from multiple sources, including Excel spreadsheets, content from emails and summarise virtual meetings. (AFP)