Investing.com -- U.S. stocks rose sharply on Wednesday, as JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) led a broad rally among financial stocks with stronger than expected quarterly earnings and China bolstered the major indices with upbeat monthly export data, easing concerns of slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
On Wednesday morning, JP Morgan Chase reported first quarter revenues of $24.083 billion and earnings per share of 1.35, eclipsing analysts' sales forecasts of $23.399 billion and EPS estimates of 1.26 respectively. While JP Morgan said it suffered significant losses from write-offs in the energy sector during the three-month period, analysts said the world's largest bank's overall loan portfolio showed little signs of weakening. JP Morgan also cut non-interest expenses by 7% on the quarter, amid considerable savings from legal expenses.
"The consumer businesses continue to grow loans and deposits impressively, attracting deposits faster than the industry," JP Morgan chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. "The U.S. consumer remains healthy and consumer credit trends are favorable."
JP Morgan was the first major bank to release first quarter earnings since the Federal Reserve ended a seven-year zero interest rate policy in December by hiking short-term rates by 25 basis points. The release came ahead of quarterly reports from Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) on Thursday, the world's second and third-largest banks. Also on Wednesday, U.S. federal regulators said five of the nation's top eight banks do not have reliable plans for closing down their operations if another financial crisis surfaces, after failing the government's "too big to fail" test. Shares in Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), the largest bank to meet standards required by the regulators, surged more than 5.6% to 44.27.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 191.69 or 1.08% to 17,912.94, while the NASDAQ Composite index rose 75.33 or 1.55% to 4,947.42, extending gains from Tuesday's rally. The S&P 500 Composite index also gained 20.70 or 1.00% to , as eight of 10 sectors closed in the green. Stocks in the Financials, Technology and Industrials sectors led, each gaining more than 1.4%. Stocks in the Telecommunications and Utilities industries lagged.
At one point on Wednesday, both the Dow and S&P touched 2016 intraday highs.
JP Morgan ended Wednesday's session as the top performer after gaining 2.75 or 4.64% to 62.03. Although shares in JP Morgan are down fractionally over the last year, they have rallied nearly 17% since mid-February when Dimon invested $25 million of his personal stake in the company.
The worst performer was VZ Holding AG (SIX:VZN), which fell 0.79 or 1.51% to 51.17 after 36,000 employees walked off the job on Wednesday, when union leaders from the Communications Workers of America failed to reach a labor agreement with the company. It marks the largest labor dispute in the U.S. since 2011, when 45,000 Verizon workers struck from the company, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU), which jumped 0.70 or 6.83% to 10.87. Micron shares popped after the semiconductor firm received an outperform rating from analysts at Cowen & Co. following the launch of the company's new lab in Austin, Texas which specializes in solid-state drive production. The worst performer was Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX), which fell 1.18 or 3.37% to 33.86. Shares in the Northern California-based data storage company are down more than 40% over the last year.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE:THC), which jumped 2.69 or 9.26% to 31.73 after receiving an upgrade from neutral to positive by analysts from Susquehanna. Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC), one of the top hospital chains in the U.S., specializes in a wide array of comprehensive surgical procedures including liver, kidney and bone marrow transplants, gamma-knife brain surgery and cyberknife radiation therapy. The worst performer was Reynolds American Inc (NYSE:RAI), which fell 2.11 or 4.12% to 49.15. Shares in the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S. are still up by more than 37% over the last 52 weeks.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing issues outnumbered declining ones by a 2,398-708 margin.