Wall Street Rally.......
The major indices traded at session highs and the financial sector is up 10%, accounting for 15.2 points of the S&P 500's advance.
Wells Fargo reported second quarter earnings of $0.53 per share, topping Wall Street's expectation by $0.03. In addition, the San Francisco-based bank raised its dividend by 10%, indicating it is in a solid financial position despite the current environment. The stock spiked 32% on the news.
This, along with better-than-expected earnings from Charles Schwab (SCHW 21.91, +2.69), Northern Trust (NTRS 76.00, +8.81) and Marshall & Ilsley (13.61, +2.02) sent the financial sector soaring to a 12.3% gain -- the largest advance since it was created in 1989.
It was a solid session outside of financials as well, with eight of the ten economic sectors posting an advance, aided by the second straight day of tumbling oil prices, bargain hunting and short-covering.
With regard to crude oil, prices fell 3.1% after a government report showed an unexpected crude and gasoline inventory build, sparking a rally in energy-price sensitive areas.
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