Bank Shares Drive up U.S. Stocks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 notched extended their gains on Tuesday, after hitting new record closes on the first trading day of 2022.

The blue-chip index leaped 289.19 points to 36,874.25, an intraday record.

The much-broader S&P 500 index popped 13.29 points to 4,809.85, also an intraday record.

The NASDAQ faded 99.47 points at 15,733.33.

Investors this week have been betting the economy could overcome the latest surge in COVID cases and riding momentum from what was a stellar 2021 for the markets.

Energy and economic recovery stocks were among the early gainers, despite the U.S. reporting omicron cases rising above one million Monday. Halliburton shares jumped 5% as crude prices rose and Morgan Stanley upgraded the oil services company.

Bank stocks, which got a lift from the rise in yields Monday, extended their gains Tuesday. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and others rose about 2%. Wells Fargo gained 3%.

Elsewhere, cruise operators continued their rebound, with shares of Carnival Corp and Norwegian Cruise rising roughly 2%. Airline stocks were also higher as part of the reopening trade. American and United Airlines rose about 2%.

Shares of Ford Motor rose more than 8% after the company opened orders this week for its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, which it had previously shut down due to an overwhelming response. The company also announced plans to nearly double its production plan to 150,000 annually.

Under Armour shares gained 1.2% after Baird upgraded the stock, saying it would benefit from a cyclical recovery in earnings.

Prices for 10-year Treasurys plummeted, raising yields to 1.67% from Monday’s 1.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil prices strengthened $1.14 to $77.22 U.S. a barrel.

Gold prices picked up eight dollars to $1,808.10 U.S. an ounce.