NEW YORK: US stocks opened higher Friday as a trio of leading banks beat analyst third quarter earnings forecasts despite the tough low interest rate environment.
The three — Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup — all saw net profits fall as low rates pared lending margins, but they beat forecasts from analysts, driving their shares higher in early trade.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7 percent to 18,229.53.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.6 percent at 2,146.22, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 5,251.99.
Citigroup shares led the three reporting banks with a 2.5 percent gain, Wells Fargo rose 0.5 percent and JPMorgan 1.3 percent.
Other banks yet to report for the quarter rode the wave higher: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both jumped more than 3 percent while Bank of America rose 2.2 percent.
Also helping the market were fresh economic indicators pointing to a resilient economy; both retail sales and producer prices picked up in September.
