The Dow gains 67 points to close at 12,640.78
Trader Ronald Guidone, center, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks rose today as bank shares gained. Bank stocks had some of the biggest gains even though many of them had their credit ratings cut the day before. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other big lenders posted solid gains.
Banking analysts said the downgrades from Moody’s Investor Service late Thursday had been expected for months and removed uncertainty that had been weighing on banks.
“It’s been like a cloud over the sector,” said Brian Gendreau, market strategist with the broker Cetera Financial. “And look at who’s going up: bank stocks. There are obviously some people who thought it would be much worse.”The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.21 to close at 12,640.78. Bank of America gained 1.5 percent, or 12 cents, to $7.94, one of the best showings of the 30 stocks in the Dow.
In a note to clients, analysts at the investment bank Keefe Bruyette & Woods called Morgan Stanley “the clear winner.” Some analysts had expected Moody’s to lower Morgan Stanley’s rating by three notches, instead of the two-notch cut it received. Bank stocks rose across the board.
Morgan Stanley rose 18 cents to $14.14. JPMorgan Chase climbed 48 cents to $35.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.51 points to 1,335.02 and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 33.33 points to 2,892.42.
The gains turned the Nasdaq positive for the week.