The US markets ended higher on Thursday following a private report stating that JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS) and several other big banks are discussing a potential deal with First Republic Bank (FRC). The potential deal could include a sizable capital infusion to shore up the beleaguered lender. First Republic is working on various potential options including a capital raise that could take various forms. Besides, reports that Credit Suisse will borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to shore up liquidity and investor confidence also helped ease recent concerns about turmoil in the banking sector. On the sectoral front, banking stocks showed a significant turnaround over the course of the session, the KBW Bank Index jumping by 2.6 percent after hitting its lowest intraday level in over two years.
On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits pulled back by more than expected in the week ended March 11th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 192,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised level of 212,000. Street had expected jobless claims to slip to 205,000 from the 211,000 originally reported for the previous week. A separate report released by the Labor Department showed import prices edged slightly lower in the month of February. The Labor Department said import prices dipped by 0.1 percent in February after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in January. Street had expected import prices to slip by 0.2 percent, matching the decrease originally reported for the previous month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 371.98 points or 1.17 percent to 32,246.55, Nasdaq surged 283.23 points or 2.48 percent to 11,717.28 and S&P 500 was up by 68.35 points or 1.76 percent to 3,960.28.
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