U.S. stocks rise as banks surge; Dow Jones up 0.52%

Forex Pros – U.S. stocks were up after the open on Wednesday, as shares in the financial sector were broadly higher and as market sentiment was boosted after Portugal completed a successful bond sale. 

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.52%; the S&P 500 index gained 0.55%, while the Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.18%.

Earlier in the day, Portugal sold the maximum amount of EUR1.25 billion bonds at auction. The country's government debt agency said the premium investors demanded to hold Portuguese government bonds fell for the nine year issue but rose slightly for the three year issue.

Meanwhile, shares in the financial sector were broadly higher after Wells-Fargo upgraded the U.S. banking sector to ‘overweight', amid speculation Europe would step up measures to control its debt crisis and lenders would boost dividends.

Shares in the largest U.S. lender Bank of America rallied 1.77%, rival Morgan Stanley saw shares jump 1.50%, while U.S. listed shares of Banco Santander soared 5.69%. 

Elsewhere, shares in JP Morgan-Chase surged 2.06% after the banking giant said it planned to raise its dividend payout in the second quarter of 2011.

Meanwhile, shares in athletic apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica jumped 8.08% after it raised its fourth quarter earnings outlook, following strong sales in the last two months of 2010.  

Shares in global engineering and manufacturing company ITT Corporation soared 18.34% after its board approved a plan to split the company into three separate publicly-traded companies. 

Also Wednesday, shares in the world's largest maker of computer security software Symantec jumped 2.57% after Citigroup recommended buying the stock. 

However, shares in the third largest U.S. steelmaker AK Steel Holding plunged 3.21% after the stock was downgraded to ‘sell' by UBS.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly higher. The EURO STOXX 50 soared 2.07%, France's CAC 40 surged 1.54%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.36%, while Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.13%.

Elsewhere, official data showed that U.S. import prices rose less-than-expected in December. Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on the federal budget balance while the Federal Reserve was to publish its Beige Book.

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