US open: Wall Street gains as dollar slips, banks rise
Gains for banks and commodity-related issues saw Wall Street bounce back from recent weakness despite mixed reports on the economy.
At 1841 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was ahead by 0.76% or 161.95 points to 21,472.66, alongside a gain of 1.29% or 79.44 points for the Nasdaq Composite to 6,226.31 and a rise of 0.94% or 22.80 points to 2,442.16 in the S&P 500.
On Tuesday, stocks ended in the red amid concerns about President Donald Trump's economic agenda following a delay to a vote on healthcare legislation. On the Nasdaq, technology stocks weighed as the sector came under pressure again.
Yet by Wednesday investors were looking forwards to the final 'stress test' results for the nation's banks, alongside sharp gains in commodities as the US dollar slipped lower again.
The KBW index of bank shares was up by 1.88% to 94.59 points. Other notable sector moves to the upside were to be seen in: Paper (4.40%), Iron &Steel (3.38%), Transportation services (2.88%) and Industrial metals (2.79%).
Outside of zinc, LME-traded base and industrial metals were higher across-the-board on Wednesday as the US dollar spot index gave back 0.3% to 96.05 amid apparently more hawkish (and confusing) remarks from the top ECB and BoE officials, although not all analysts were wholly convinced.
Meanwhile, crude oil prices advanced after the Energy Information Administration reported a 100,000 barrel drop in domestic US oil output for the latest week.
Pending home sales in the States fell unexpectedly in May, with the National Association of Realtors' index sinking by 0.8% on the month (consensus: 0.8%).
America's trade shortfall with the rest of the world improved slightly in May, shrinking from -$67.55bn in April to -$65.9bn (consensus: -$66.2bn).
Yields on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note were at 2.22%, up by two basis points.
In corporate news, shares in General Mills were trading on the frontfoot after it reported a 7.7% jump in quarterly profit.
Monsanto stock was also higher beating analysts' forecasts for fiscal third quarter earnings and sales.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $106.06 2.05%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $89.84 2.03%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $224.19 1.78%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $107.21 1.71%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $32.24 1.53%
American Express Co. (AXP) $84.20 1.35%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $145.67 1.35%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.09 1.32%
Visa Inc. (V) $95.88 1.03%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $53.41 0.87%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $134.09 -0.68%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $65.35 -0.29%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.72 -0.15%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $88.50 -0.12%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.86 0.04%
General Electric Co. (GE) $27.24 0.11%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $154.18 0.30%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $155.38 0.41%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $127.93 0.43%
3M Co. (MMM) $210.73 0.45%
S&P 500 - Risers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $38.52 5.56%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $11.10 4.97%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $91.40 4.22%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $22.44 4.03%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $8.36 3.59%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $25.12 3.59%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $64.79 3.17%
Kroger Co. (KR) $23.41 2.82%
Bank of America Corp. (BAC) $23.92 2.79%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.96 2.76%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $118.85 -2.55%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $30.69 -2.07%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $57.63 -1.69%
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) $91.46 -1.33%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $218.99 -1.30%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $30.35 -1.19%
PG&E Corp. (PCG) $66.43 -0.91%
American Tower Corp (Reit) (AMT) $134.59 -0.85%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $25.67 -0.81%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $430.24 -0.79%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $91.40 4.22%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $31.42 3.63%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $30.43 3.34%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $64.79 3.17%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $55.44 2.93%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $339.33 2.87%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $150.39 2.60%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $125.23 2.56%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $514.15 2.40%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $133.91 2.34%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $57.63 -1.69%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $218.99 -1.30%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $171.43 -0.28%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $108.19 -0.12%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $311.89 0.13%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $135.46 0.13%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $61.10 0.15%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class C (DISCK) $25.44 0.20%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $58.43 0.24%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $135.96 0.24%