Dow Jones climbs 533 points as big bank earnings beat

U.S. stock indexes surged Thursday as the big banks posted strong quarterly results and jobless claims fell to lowest level of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 533 points, or 1.55%, while the S&P 500 index advanced 1.71% to post its best day since March and the Nasdaq Composite index tacked on 1.73% for its best session since May.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
I:DJI	DOW JONES AVERAGES	43955.72	+547.25	+1.26%
SP500	S&P 500	5959.35	+42.24	+0.71%
I:COMP	NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX	19007.407389	+41.26	+0.22%

The strong gains came as jobless claims fell to the lowest level since the outbreak of COVID-19. A separate release showed producer prices rose 8.6% year over year in September, making for the sixth straight record increase. Prices edged up 0.5% month over month. 

In stocks, Bank of America Corp. reported earnings and revenue that exceeded Wall Street estimates amid strong growth in its lending and stock-trading units. The bank also benefited from the release of $1.1 billion in reserves that were built up during the pandemic. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
BAC	BANK OF AMERICA CORP.	46.75	+0.69	+1.49%

Wells Fargo & Co.’s quarterly profit spiked 59%, boosted by the release of money set aside for losses during the pandemic. Both earnings and sales topped analysts’ expectations. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
WFC	WELLS FARGO & CO.	75.67	+2.10	+2.85%

Morgan Stanley booked stronger-than-expected results as its wealth management division added a record amount of assets. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MS	MORGAN STANLEY	135.31	+3.62	+2.75%

Citigroup Inc. earnings and sales outpaced estimates as the release of loan loss reserves and strong equities trading provided a lift.  

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
C	CITIGROUP INC.	69.33	+1.05	+1.54%

Elsewhere on the earnings front, Domino’s Pizza Inc. reported an unexpected drop in U.S. same-store sales.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DPZ	DOMINO'S PIZZA INC.	444.84	+5.82	+1.33%

UnitedHealth Group Inc. raised its full-year profit outlook due to robust membership growth in its insurance business from both commercial and Medicare and Medicaid plans. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
UNH	UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC.	598.73	-2.06	-0.34%

Meanwhile, oil companies, including Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp. and Haliburton Co., gained as West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 87 cents to $81.31 a barrel. 

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
CVX	CHEVRON CORP.	162.28	+0.98	+0.61%
XOM	EXXON MOBIL CORP.	122.41	+2.06	+1.71%
HAL	HALLIBURTON CO.	32.28	+1.08	+3.46%

Miners, like Barrick Gold Corp. and Newmont Corp., added to Wednesday’s gains as gold rallied $3 to $1,796.70 an ounce.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
GOLD	BARRICK GOLD CORP.	18.11	+0.21	+1.20%
NEM	NEWMONT CORP.	43.16	+0.17	+0.41%

In other news, Deere & Co. shares were in focus as more than 10,000 workers across 14 U.S. facilities went on strike over wages and benefits.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
DE	DEERE & CO.	437.82	+32.71	+8.07%

Electric truck startup Lordstown Motors Corp. named Adam Kroll, a former investment banker who recently served as chief administrative officer at hydrogen-powered commercial vehicle maker Hyzon Motors, as its new finance chief.

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
RIDE	NO DATA AVAILABLE	-	-	-

Overseas markets mostly gained. 

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European bourses were broadly higher with Britain’s FTSE 100 up 0.92%, Germany’s DAX advancing 1.4% and France’s CAC 40 rising 1.33%. 

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.46% while China’s Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.1%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained closed for holiday.