(Reuters) - U. S. stocks were set to gain the most in nearly two weeks late-Monday morning as higher oil prices lifted
energy stocks, while investors braced for big banks to kick off the first-quarter earnings season later in the week.
JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are scheduled to report earnings on Thursday
and could throw some light on the U. S. banking industry’s performance amid a rally in financial shares since the election of President Donald Trump.
Terry Sandven said that The financial sector has been a darling performer since the election
and we’ve seen some of that performance retreat in the last couple of weeks,
Oil prices rose more than 1 percent, with U. S. crude hitting a more than one-month high, supported by a Libyan oilfield shutdown, tension over a U. S. missile strike on Syria and signs
that an OPEC-led output cut is helping to clear excess supplies.
The S&P 500 index showed seven 52-week highs and two lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 51 highs and 17 lows.
"So what the banks report and what their guidance is will be the primary driver for equity prices over the next week or two."