US: Stocks rise on strength in banks, semiconductor shares

WALL Street stocks powered higher on Wednesday (Mar 29) as markets cheered the apparent containment of a banking industry crisis that has rattled investors in recent weeks.

Worries are receding that the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and two other regional lenders would lead to other causalities.

“As the mini-bank crisis recedes a bit, equity investors look to what was oversold in the last few weeks,” said Art Hogan, an analyst at B Riley Financial, adding that investors have also been encouraged at lower volatility in the bond market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 1.0 per cent at 32,717.60.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.4 per cent to 4,027.81, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.8 per cent to 11,926.24.

While all 11 industrial sectors posted gains, semiconductor firms were especially strong following a forecast from Micron that pointed to improving demand in the second half of the year.

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Micron jumped 7.2 per cent, while Dow member Intel surged 7.6 per cent and Nvidia advanced 2.2 per cent.

Regional banks were another winner, with First Republic piling on 5.9 per cent and PacWest Bancorp winning 5.1 per cent.

Among other companies, Lululemon Athletica jumped 12.7 per cent after reporting a 30 per cent increase in revenues in the fourth quarter, following a solid holiday season. AFP