Following Friday's negative close, bank and thrift stocksmoved higher in morning trading Monday, May 2. The SNL U.S. Bank Index rose0.88% to 410.10 and the SNL U.S. Thrift Index climbed 0.52% to796.15.

The broader markets were also in positive territory,with the Dow Jones Industrial Average advancing 0.34% to17,834.11, the S&P 500 increasing 0.29% to 2,071.31 and theNasdaq composite index inching up 0.18% to 4,783.77.

In economic news, the U.S. Census Bureau of theDepartment of Commerce reported that construction spending during March wasestimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.138 trillion, 0.3% abovethe revised February estimate of $1.134 trillion and 8.0% above the March 2015estimate of $1.053 trillion.

JPMorganChase & Co. rose 0.93% to $63.79, jumped 1.10% to $50.53, CitigroupInc. ticked up 0.71% to $46.61 and climbed 1.00% to $14.71.

Evansville, Ind.-based , meanwhile, sawits stock fall 3.25% to $12.97 in morning trading amid news that it hasagreed to sell unitONB Insurance Group Inc., which does business as Old National Insurance, toPrime Risk Partners. Old National Bancorp expects to receive approximately $93.0million in cash and recognize an after-tax gain of about $16 million to $18million.

Old National Bancorp also reported net income of $26.9million, or 24 cents per share, for the first quarter. Included in the resultswere $1.4 million in pretax charges relating to the merger and integration ofAnchor BanCorp WisconsinInc. Anchor BanCorp Wisconsin into Old National Bancorpon May 1.

In other banking news, Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc. said May 2 that it intendsto consolidate threebranches of its Irvine, Calif.-based unit, Pacific Premier Bank, as part of a branch networkoptimization strategy. Pacific Premier Bancorp was trading at$23.44 around midday, up 0.78% from the previous close.

Among notable movers, Louisville, Ky.-based jumped14.52% to $1.90 and Green Bay, Wis.-based Nicolet Bankshares Inc. rose 9.61% to $42.20.

In the thrift space, Toms River, N.J.-based hasclosed theacquisition ofCape May Court House, N.J.-based Cape Bancorp Inc. OceanFirst Financial's stock dropped3.03% to $18.89 in morning trading.

BofIHolding Inc. also moved lower, falling 4.81% to $19.39. Meanwhile,New York Community BancorpInc. rose 0.60% to $15.12 and advanced 1.51% to $18.17.

Marketprices and index values are current as of the time of publication and aresubject to change.