Financial stocks rallied with the broader markets Friday on some positive consumer spending news.
The KBW Bank Index rose 1.02%, to 43.25.
Stocks surged after the Commerce Department said retail sales rose by a better-than-expected 1.3% in November, a sign that consumers are becoming more comfortable spending. Business inventories rose 0.2% in October, snapping 13 straight months of decline, the agency said.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.63% and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.37%.
Some large lenders with heavy consumer exposure through credit cards and other products closed higher Friday.
Bank of America Corp. rose 2.76%, Capital One Financial Corp. rose 4.34% and Citigroup Inc. rose 8 cents, to $3.95.
KeyCorp rose 3.23%; Comerica Inc. rose 2.99%; SunTrust Banks Inc. rose 1.78% and Northern Trust Corp. rose 0.97%.
