Major US stock indices rose moderately on Wednesday due to a rise in prices for bank shares after strong reports by Bank of America and Goldman Sachs.

Bank of America reported a quarterly profit of $ 0.70 per share, which was $ 0.07 above the analysts' average forecast. Quarterly revenue of the bank also exceeded the average market forecast. It is worth noting that his profit has more than tripled from a year earlier. Goldman Sachs reported quarterly earnings of $ 6.04 per share, which was well above the analysts' average forecast of $ 4.78. The company's revenue also exceeded the forecast, showing an increase of 12% y / y and reaching the highest level since 2010.

Some attention was also attracted data on the US housing market. The housing market index from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) rose in January by 2 points, to 58 points. This happened after two months of sharp fall in sentiment, to its lowest level in the last two years. Recall that in January 2018 the index was 72 points. The value of the indicator above the level of 50 points indicates favorable prospects.

Most of the components of DOW finished trading in positive territory (17 of 30). The growth leader was The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS, + 9.92%). The outsider was Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ, -1.76%).

Most sectors of the S & P recorded an increase. The largest growth was shown by the financial sector (+ 1.5%). Consumer goods sector decreased more than the rest (-0.2%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 24,207.16 +141.57 +0.59%

S & P 500 2,616.10 +5.80 +0.22%

Nasdaq 100 7,034.69 +10.86 +0.15%

U.S. stock-index futures rose slightly on Wednesday, helped by strong quarterly results from major banks like Goldman Sachs (GS) and Bank of America (BAC).

Global Stocks:

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Citigroup (C) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Standpoint Research

Goldman Sachs (GS) reported Q4 FY 2018 earnings of $6.04 per share (versus $5.68 in Q4 FY 2017), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $4.78.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $8.080 bln (-0.5% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $7.482 bln.

GS rose to $184.39 (+2.49%) in pre-market trading.

Bank of America (BAC) reported Q4 FY 2018 earnings of $0.70 per share (versus $0.47 in Q4 FY 2017), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $0.63.

The company’s quarterly revenues amounted to $22.891 bln (+100.7% y/y), beating analysts’ consensus estimate of $22.373 bln.

BAC rose to $27.74 (+4.48%) in pre-market trading.