Stocks racked up gains Friday, led by Walt Disney and financials as JPMorgan delivered blowout earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 1.03%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.66%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.46%.
The S&P 500 ended the day just 1.1% below its all-time high of 2,940.91, reached on Sept. 21, 2018. The Dow is within 2% of its 2018 peak, and the Nasdaq is 1.8% below its 2018 peak.
JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) got the earnings season underway on a good note, beating the consensus from on the both the top and bottom lines. Its share price rose 4.6%.
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) fell 2.6% as its above-consensus earnings was overshadowed by a weakness in its consumer lending business. Investors also had to contend with more bad news. Interim CEO Allen Parker downgraded the bank's outlook on net interest income to range of -2% to -5% from a -2% to 2% range previously, citing a lower absolute rate outlook, a flatter curve and tightening loan spreads.
PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), meanwhile, delivered in-line earnings and a revenue beat, sending its share more than 3% higher.
With many fearing the first-quarter earnings would prove one of the most challenging in years, the mostly upbeat results appeared to cast aside some of the doubt.
Beyond earnings, Disney (NYSE:DIS) also powered the rally in the broader market, surging 11.5% after the company gave details late Thursday on its new streaming service, Disney+. Disney also hit a 52-week and all-time high of $130.90, and the stock contributed 91 points to the Dow's 269-point gain.
The service isn't likely to turn a profit for at least five years and will be priced at $7.99 per month/$69.99 per year, with two-thirds of the sales of the service expected to come from overseas markets, according to Disney.
That subscription price is well below that of rival Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), which crumbled in the shadow of Disney, down nearly 4.5% on the day.
Swashbuckling gains were not on display in all corners of the markets as energy stocks lagged the move the higher, rising just 0.18% as U.S. oil prices gave up some gains following an uptick in rig counts.
Among the highlights in energy, Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) rallied 32% after Chevron (NYSE:CVX) agreed to buy the company for $33 billion. Chevron fell 4.9%.
Health care stocks, meanwhile, ended the day down nearly 1% as ongoing uncertainty about the fate of the Affordable Care Act and fears lawmakers may impose measures to curb drug prices continue to stifle the sector.
On the economic front, weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment data had a muted impact on stocks.
Top S&P 500 Gainers and Losers Today:
Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC), Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) were among the top S&P 500 gainers for the session.
Anthem (NYSE:ANTM), National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) were among the worst S&P 500 performers of the session.
