S&P 500 notches 3rd straight weekly gain as U.S. stocks rally

Stocks notched solid gains on Wall Street Friday, erasing most of the losses the market sustained after an uneven week of trading.

The strong finish gave the S&P 500 its third straight weekly gain. The benchmark index is now just under 1 percent from its most recent all-time high set on Sept. 20, reflecting the strong rebound for the market this year after a dismal slide in December.

Banks led the gains Friday after a solid quarterly profit report from JPMorgan Chase opened the latest round of highly anticipated company earnings. Banks have been benefiting from higher interest rates, which allow them to book fatter profits from making loans.

Disney surged to an all-time high after it announced plans to offer its own video streaming service. Disney will be going head-to-head with Netflix, which declined.

The market was coming off a wobbly week as investors worried that the early first-quarter earnings reports would come in even weaker than the low expectations analysts already have.

The solid results from major banks Friday were encouraging, but investors need to see more, said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA.

“In general, you need to have the financial companies participate in order for a market advance to continue,” Stovall said. “Investors will be waiting, listening for other news that would be beneficial not only to banks, but to industrial and technology stocks.”

The S&P 500 index rose

19.09 points, or 0.7%, to

2,907.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed

269.25 points, or 1%, to

26,412.30. The average still finished slightly lower for the week.

The Nasdaq composite gained 36.80 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,984.16. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 5.66 points, or

0.4 percent, to 1,584.80. Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark

10-year Treasury rose to

2.56% from 2.50% late Thursday.

Indexes in Europe and Asia closed broadly higher.