Banking stocks led by Bank of America Corp. rose with the broader markets Tuesday as positive home-builder and manufacturing data indicated that the economy is moving in the right direction.
The KBW Bank Index rose 2.93%, to 46.
While a handful of large and midsize banks closed higher, Bank of America posted the biggest gains after saying in a regulatory filing that credit card losses and delinquencies fell in January. Bank of America rose 4.91%.
That news overshadowed the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which said customer satisfaction with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell late last year. The satisfaction level was unchanged for the banking industry overall.
JPMorgan Chase rose 2.88%.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Empire Manufacturing survey said business conditions improved in February for New York manufacturers. The National Association of Home Builders said a survey found that U.S. home builders were more confident in February that the housing market was recovering.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.68% and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.4%.
Wells Fargo & Co. rose 1.9% and Citigroup Inc. rose 13 cents, to $3.31.
In regional banking, U.S. Bancorp rose 2.58%; PNC Financial Services Group Inc., 1.79%; Fifth Third Bancorp, 4.05%; SunTrust Banks Inc., 1.43%; BB&T Corp., 1.82%; and Regions Financial Corp., 4.25%.
