US Stocks See Gains On Strong Bank Earnings

US stocks rose on Friday and the Dow scored its biggest weekly percentage gain since June, as Goldman Sachs rounded out a week of strong quarterly earnings for the big banks.

Goldman Sachs Group shares jumped 3.8 percent and gave the Dow its biggest boost, as a record wave of deal making activity drove a surge in the bank's quarterly profit.

Goldman's report followed strong results from Bank of America and others this week. Banks were among the biggest positives for the S&P 500 on the day, and the index's bank index climbed 2.1 percent.

Results from big financial institutions provided a strong start to third-quarter US earnings, though investors will still watch in coming weeks for signs of impacts from supply chain disruptions and higher costs, especially for energy.

Forecasts now call for third-quarter S&P 500 earnings to show a 32 percent rise from a year ago. The latest forecast, based on results from 41 S&P 500 companies and estimates for the rest, is up from 29.4 percent at the start of October, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

"We're starting to get into an earnings-driven rally here that I hope lasts. We'll really see the results in the next couple of weeks as a great bulk of companies in all sectors report," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Alcoa Corp shares surged 15.2 percent after the aluminium producer reported stronger-than-expected results, announced a US$500 million buyback programme and initiated a quarterly cash dividend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.09 percent, to 35,295, the S&P 500 gained 0.75 percent, to 4,471 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 percent to 14,897. (Reuters)