The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indices have hit a new high for 2016 as investors pile into banking stocks: JP Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup all climb
US stocks have risen to highs for the year in New York, pushed on by investors piling into banking shares.
Both the S&P 500 and the the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached fresh highs for 2016.
The S&P 500 was up 0.7 per cent in early morning trading at 2,075.21 in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 0.7 per cent to 17,844.35. The Nasdaq Composite rose a similar amount to 4,904.
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Better than expected results from JP Morgan have prompted a rise in banking shares. JP Morgan added three per cent, while Citigroup and Morgan Stanley both climbed by four per cent. Goldman Sachs rose by three per cent.
The results, a first in a flurry of banking financial reports from the US, promted UK banks to rise too.
Standard Chartered added 10 per cent in London, while Barclays rose six per cent.
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HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Lloyds Banking Group were all up around five per cent.
Both US indices and London FTSE have struggled this year after the oil price has failed to recover, further warnings over the economic health of China and other emerging markets, and a raft of new regulatory and capital requirements.