Banks lead stocks up on rate hope

Banks led the stock market higher Monday as investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year. That could help banks recover from a long slump by making lending more profitable.

Raising interest rates from their rock-bottom levels, where they have been since the 2008 financial crisis, could be a good thing not only for markets but also for and savers, said Rob Lutts, chief investment officer of Cabot Wealth Management in Salem, Mass.

“There’s a lot of spending power that may be released in the economy” if savers earn more on their bank accounts, Lutts said.

Shares of Wells Fargo climbed 2.2% to $49.56 and JPMorgan Chase rose 1.1% to $66.95.

Herbalife climbed 4.6% to $63.30 after Carl Icahn, the company’s largest shareholder, said Friday that he bought more shares in the Los Angeles maker of nutritional supplements and that he never gave an order to sell his $1-billion stake.

ResMed, a San Diego firm whose products include CPAP machines, fell 1.6% to $67.90 after a study published Sunday found that for people who have cardiovascular disease and sleep apnea, CPAP machines don’t seem to be effective at preventing heart attacks and strokes.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 66 cents to $46.98 a barrel. Brent crude, used to price oil internationally, fell 66 cents to $49.26 a barrel. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.85 per 1,000 cubic feet.

U.S. government bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.56% from 1.63%. The dollar rose to 101.98 yen from 101.86 yen. The euro rose to $1.1187 from $1.1183.

Gold gained $1.20 to $1,327.10 an ounce, silver rose 11 cents to $18.86 an ounce and copper edged down less than a penny to $2.08 a pound.