Why the Stock Market Made Bank Wednesday Morning

The stock market has shown a lot of optimism about the prospects for a strong 2021, and investors have looked forward to the beginning of first-quarter earnings season as their first gauge of how well a recovery is progressing.

That crucial earnings season started Wednesday morning. Market participants were pleased with what they saw, and as of 10:30 a.m. EDT today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI) was at a record high, up 174 points to 33,852. The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) joined suit with a gain of 7 points to 4,148, and the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) had put in fairly modest gains of 22 points to 14,017.

Three big banks reported on how the first quarter went for them. Although their shares were mixed, the prospects they have for further growth were attractive enough to spur a broader bull market run that went well beyond the financial sector. Below, we'll look at how Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) kicked things off.

Source Fool.com