Bank stocks and the broader markets rose Wednesday on positive news about industrial activity.
The KBW Bank Index rose 4.03%, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.12% and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 1.53%.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that output at U.S. factories, mines and utilities in August rose 0.8% from the prior month. Economists on average expected an increase of 0.6%. The Fed also revised July's output to a 1% increase, twice what was originally reported.
Economists at Wells Fargo Securities said the industrial gains were broad-based, with none of the major market groups experiencing declines for the month.
"Still, production is off more than 10 percent over the past year and we are expecting only modest gains in coming months," the economists wrote.
Gainers were across the board.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 3.4%, Bank of America Corp., 2.7%, Wells Fargo & Co., 2.9%, PNC Financial Services Group Inc., 3.8%, U.S. Bancorp, 2.9% and Citigroup Inc., 8 cents, to $4.20.
Among the regionals, SunTrust Banks Inc. rose 5.9%, BB&T Corp., 4.6%, Capital One Financial Corp., 4.2%, KeyCorp, 8.7%, Regions Financial Corp., 5.5%, Marshall & Ilsley Corp., 8%, Zions Bancorp., 6.6%, and Huntington Bancshares Inc., 19 cents, to $4.54.
