Dow Soars on Apple, Bank Strength



Stocks popped on Friday as regional bank shares climbed off their lows and market-darling Apple reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrials spiked 382.74 points, or 1.2%, to move into the afternoon at 33,510.48.

The S&P 500 spiked 57.2 points, or 1.4%, to 4,118.57.

The NASDAQ Composite popped 204.8 points, or 1.7%, to 12,171.19.

Stocks rose even as April’s jobs numbers came in hotter than expected. The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs in April, while Wall Street had expected 180,000 new jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Apple posted beats on the top and bottom lines for the fiscal second quarter, propelled by iPhone sales. Apple shares gained more than 4%.

The rebound for regional bank stocks was boosted by a note from JPMorgan, which upgraded Western Alliance, Zions Bancorp and Comerica to overweight. The firm said those three banks appear “substantially mispriced” in part due to short-selling activity. PacWest — which is down sharply this week on news it’s considering strategic options that include a sale — popped 54%. Western Alliance also jumped more than 34%.

Shares of regional banking companies have been under pressure this week, as traders fear other institutions could suffer the same fate as Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Both banks collapsed in March.

Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 3.45% from Thursday’s 3.36%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices took on $2.47 to $71.07 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices took a header $33.30 to $2,022.40 U.S. an ounce.