TOL Toll Brothers Inc

By Riva Gold and Aaron Kuriloff 

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, boosted by gains in financial and technology stocks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 200 points, or 1.2%, to 17694 and the S&P 500 climbed 1.1%.

Some investors said stocks were still absorbing recent indications that the U.S. Federal Reserve may raise interest rates. Rising rates are good for banks because they increase the gap between what banks charge on loans and what they pay for deposits, a spread known as the net interest margin.

Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Monday he could "easily" see the U.S. central bank raising rates two to three times this year, possibly as soon as June.

"I think the markets are coming to grips with the fact that the Fed is going to raise interest rates, the world's not going to end, and let's see who benefits," said Bob Doll, senior portfolio manager at Nuveen Asset Management. "Financials are among those who should benefit."

The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index of large U.S. commercial lenders rose 1.8%. Morgan Stanley climbed 2.1%, and J.P. Morgan Chase rose 1.9%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.5%, while technology shares in the S&P 500 gained 1.6%. Western Digital rose 4.3% and eBay climbed 2.5%

The Stoxx Europe 600 reversed early losses to rise 2.2%.

Eurozone finance ministers were meeting Tuesday to discuss options for Greek debt relief, after the country's parliament approved taxes and austerity measures over the weekend needed to unlock further rescue loans.

"For once, there's good news on Greece," said Mike Bell, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, noting investor sentiment was lifted by hopes that Greece will receive relief before major debts fall due in July.

In currencies, the euro slipped 0.6% against the dollar to $1.1151. German economic growth accelerated at the start of the year, data showed Tuesday, but a separate report from German think tank ZEW showed financial analysts grew more pessimistic about the country's economic outlook.

The dollar rose 0.6% against the yen to Yen109.942. Japan's finance minister said Tuesday that the country has no plans to weaken the yen to try to boost exports, following weeks of market speculation.

The British pound rose 0.8% against the dollar to $1.4600 after an opinion poll pointed to a lower chance of the U.K. voting to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum.

"The pound has had a little jump for joy on fact that Brexit risk is reducing, but sterling could fall quite a bit more if Britain left [the EU]," Mr. Bell said.

Shares in Asia mostly ended lower as oil prices fell and investors continued to grapple with the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.9%, while the Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.8%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 0.1%.

U.S. crude oil added 1% to $48.56 a barrel. Gold fell 1.4% to $1,234.50 an ounce.

Ian Talley contributed to this article

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 24, 2016 10:53 ET (14:53 GMT)

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