Financial sector boosts U.S. stocks

Stocks climbed again Wednesday as quarterly results from JPMorgan Chase gave banks a big lift. Economic news from China powered industrial and technology companies in the U.S. and stock exchanges overseas.

JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., led a rally in financial stocks after its first-quarter results came in better than analysts expected. Railroad operators and auto parts suppliers also gained ground, while consumer goods makers struggled. Gains over the last two days have brought stocks to their highest levels of 2016.

Julian Emanuel, U.S. equities and derivatives strategist for UBS, said it didn’t take much to send banks shares higher.

“Bank stocks have been so beaten up that any good news ... is likely to underpin those stocks,” he said.

JPMorgan, the first U.S. bank to report its earnings, said its first-quarter profit fell because of weak results in its investment banking business. Its profit and revenue were bigger than analysts expected, however, and the stock rose 4.2% to $61.79. Bank of America picked up 3.9%, Wells Fargo rose 2.6% and Citigroup jumped 5.6%.

Railroad operator CSX climbed 4.2% to $26.03. The company’s profit fell as demand for coal weakened and CSX hauled less freight, but expenses fell, partly because fuel costs dropped. CSX said it plans to cut spending.

Industrial and tech stocks rose on reports that exports from China grew 11.5% in March compared with a year earlier. That was the first annual gain since June, and it’s a sign of life from China’s slowing economy. Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar rose 4% to $79.13 and engine maker Cummins climbed 5.5% to $113.70.

Utilities and telecommunications firms, the bestperforming parts of the market so far this year, traded lower Wednesday. Emanuel said that’s a sign the recent rally is running out of steam.

Consumer goods makers also fell after the Commerce Department said retail sales slid a little in March.

U.S. crude slipped 41 cents, or 1%, to $41.76 a barrel. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil pricing, fell 51 cents, or 1.1%, to $44.18 a barrel.

Wholesale gasoline was little changed at $1.53 a gallon. Heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.27 a gallon.