CS Credit Suisse Group

By Aaron Kuriloff and Riva Gold 

Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose for a fifth consecutive session, while major U.S. indexes crept higher Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up to its highest level since July 20, a day after a bank-led rally gave the blue-chip index its biggest gain in a month.

The moves came after investors got a snapshot of earnings from some large U.S. banks, boosting a sector that remains the worst performer in the S&P 500 so far this year.

"When you get sectors that have been underperforming catching up, that speaks to the overall breadth of the market," said Rob Bernstone, managing director in equity trading at Credit Suisse.

The Dow industrials edged up 18.15 points, or 0.1% to 17926.43. The S&P 500 rose 0.36, or less than 0.1%, to 2082.78, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.53, or less than 0.1%, to 4945.89.

Bank of America reported a fall in first-quarter profit, hurt by declining trading revenue and low interest rates. Wells Fargo said its profit fell as it grappled with a slump in oil prices. Earnings per share for both banks came in above analysts' expectations.

Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. Bank of America rose 35 cents, or 2.5% to $14.14, rising 10% over five sessions. Wells Fargo fell 24 cents, or 0.5% to 48.79. J.P. Morgan Chase gained 80 cents, or 1.3%, to 62.59, a day after better-than-expected results from the bank spurred the rally in financial shares.

"The bar was lowered so much going into the quarter that we're stepping over it, not jumping over it," said William Delwiche, investment strategist at Robert W. Baird.

Airline stocks were among the biggest gainers in the S&P 500. Delta Air Lines rose 45 cents, or 0.9%, to 48.49 after the company reported its 12th consecutive record quarterly profit. American Airlines rose 1.23, or 3.1%, to 41.17. United Continental Holdings climbed 1.15, or 2.1%, to 56.73 and Southwest Airlines gained 87 cents, or 1.9%, to 46.17.

Even if earnings continue to beat forecasts, some analysts say a weak outlook for global growth and relatively high stock valuations in the U.S. could make it hard for the market to move much higher.

"There's very little clarity on the economy outlook," said Abi Oladimeji, chief strategist at Thomas Miller Investment. "That breeds uncertainty, and uncertainty breeds volatility."

The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.3% to finish higher for five consecutive sessions. Burberry Group fell 3.6% in London following disappointing earnings and a profit warning for the coming year.

Earlier, stocks in Japan had their strongest day in more than a month after Bank of Japan Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank was ready to expand its bond-buying program and push interest rates further into negative territory if necessary.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 3.2% on Thursday, also helped by a slight weakening of the yen.

U.S. crude oil for May delivery lost 0.6% to $41.50 a barrel. Oil prices have been fluctuating ahead of a meeting of major oil producers in Doha, Qatar.

Gold for April delivery fell 1.7% to $1,225 an ounce.

Write to Aaron Kuriloff at aaron.kuriloff@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 15, 2016 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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