Major American banks were among the winners on the New York stock exchanges on Thursday. The 23 largest lenders in the United States have passed the annual stress test of the central banking umbrella organization Federal Reserve.
According to the Fed, the banks can survive a major economic crisis. Earlier this year, there was still unrest in the US banking sector after the collapse of several regional banks in the US.
Major banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo gained up to 3.2 percent. By passing the stress test, the banks are, in principle, allowed to reward shareholders with dividends or repurchase their shares. However, due to the deteriorating economic conditions, banks are expected to be cautious with these distributions to shareholders this year. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also recently hinted that banks might have to maintain higher buffers under new stricter capital requirements.
The Dow Jones index was up 0.4 percent in early trading at 33,976 points. The broad S&P 500 rose 0.2 percent to 4,384 points, and the technology gauge Nasdaq gained 0.1 percent to 13,601 points.
New York traders also received new data on the growth of the US economy in the first quarter. According to a new estimate, the world’s largest economy has grown significantly faster than previously thought. Data on weekly unemployment claims in the US was also reported.
Apple advanced 0.3 percent. The iPhone maker closed on Wednesday at the highest price ever and is only a fraction away from a market capitalization of no less than 3 trillion or 3 trillion dollars. Apple was briefly worth $3 trillion in January but failed to close at that level. Apple stock must close at or above $190.73 to reach that value.
Micron Technology could also count on attention. The chip company came with quarterly figures that were subsequently lowered by 4.5 percent. Nike climbed 0.5 percent. The manufacturer of sports equipment will publish quarterly figures after the closing bell. Walt Disney lost 0.9 percent. Analysts from investment bank KeyBanc lowered the advice for the entertainment group.