Wall Street gains, bank sector surges to 2008 high

By Noel Randewich

(Reuters) - Bank stocks and industrials surged on Thursday while Apple and other technology shares sank as Wall Street rearranged its bets to benefit from Donald Trump's presidency.

The S&P 500 financial sector <.SPSY> surged 4 percent to its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, bringing its gain since Trump's surprise victory in Tuesday's election to 8.1 percent. That put it on track for its biggest two-day gain since 2011.

Wells Fargo & Co jumped 7.6 percent, JPMorgan Chase rallied 4.66 percent and Bank of America surged 5.34 percent, also helped by a rise bond yields that are the result of expectations of inflationary spending by Trump.

 

Trump has also sided with leading conservatives in calling for the repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act largely opposed by banks.

"The Trump campaign did say it would repeal Dodd-Frank. Rates are higher and the yield curve is steeper. Those are all good things for the banks," said Warren West, principal at Greentree Brokerage Services in Philadelphia.

Apple dropped 2 percent while Amazon.com fell 3.65 percent and the S&P 500 technology index <.SPLRCT> fell 1.1 percent.

At 2:28 pm ET, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 1.39 percent at 18,847.8 points and the S&P 500 <.SPX> had gained 0.49 percent to 2,173.84.

The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 0.43 percent to 5,228.41.

High-dividend sectors utilities <.SPLRCU>, telecom services <.SPLRCL> and consumer staples <.SPLRCS> sold off as bond yields rose due to expectations of higher interest rates.

The market got a lift after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said the Republican sweep of the White House and Congress could break the current gridlock over national policy in a potential boon to the U.S. economy.

Industrials <.SPLRCI> trailed the financials with a 2.15 percent advance.

Macy's rose 5.9 percent after the department store operator raised its full-year sales forecast and announced a partnership to monetize some of its real-estate assets.

Walt Disney and Nordstrom were expected to report earnings after the market closes.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.02-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.67-to-1 ratio favored advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 82 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 320 new highs and 40 new lows.

(Additional reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)