Investors celebrated positive developments in trade talks by pushing stocks higher Wednesday, June 6.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 1.40% to 25,146.39, the S&P 500 improved 0.86% to 2,772.35 and the Nasdaq Composite Index expanded 0.67% to 7,689.24.
Trade tensions appeared to lessen as national leaders said throughout the day that they would continue having conversations with important trading partners. China offered to purchase nearly $70 billion of U.S. farm, manufacturing and energy products if the U.S. dropped its threats of tariffs, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people briefed on the latest negotiations with American trade officials. That helped ease investor concerns about tensions between the U.S. and China, which appeared to be on the upswing earlier in the week and have continued to oscillate since they began in April.
Additionally, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said President Donald Trump will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a summit of the G-7 nations later in the week, Reuters reported.
KBW Nasdaq Bank Index advanced 2.07% to close the session at 109.65, and KBW Nasdaq Regional Bank Index gained 1.94% to 121.97.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. added 2.34% to $110.36, Bank of America Corp. jumped 3.16% to $30.04, Citigroup Inc. increased 2.20% to $68.23 and Wells Fargo & Co. expanded 1.98% to $55.58.
In banking, news broke that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found several instances of unauthorized account openings during its horizontal review of sales practices at more than 40 banks, according to American Banker, citing spokesman Bryan Hubbard. Following the completion of the review in December 2017, the agency sent out final letters to participating banks but did not publicly release the findings.
Kroll Bond Rating Agency said that Troy, Mich.-based Flagstar Bancorp Inc.'s proposed branch and deposit acquisition from Wells Fargo was "strategically compelling, with limited potential downside compared to many transactions." It added that the proposed acquisition would drive significant branch network expansion in a relatively short time period, creating funding flexibility and continuous growth in Flagstar Bancorp's balance sheet going forward. Flagstar jumped 4.37% to $36.31.
In bank movers, BofI Holding Inc. grew 3.40% to $44.65, Signature Bank rose 2.97% to $132.09 and Texas Capital Bancshares Inc. added 2.90% to $101.00. Meta Financial Group Inc. fell 2.07% to $113.65, and Chemung Financial Corp. declined 1.28% to $52.31.
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