Banks Led Stocks to Second Straight Gain

U.S. stocks rallied for a second straight day on Wednesday, led by gains in beaten-down financial shares after JPMorgan’s quarterly results. At closem the Dow Jones industrial average rose 187.03 points, or 1.06%, to 17,908.28. The S&P 500 gained 20.70 points, or 1.00%, to 2,082.42. The Nasdaq Composite added 75.33 points, or 1.55%, to 4,947.42.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), the No. 1 U.S. bank by assets, reported a quarterly profit that topped low market expectations.  JPMorgan’s net income fell 6.7 percent to $5.52 billion in the quarter ended March 31. The bank earned $1.35 per share. Total revenue fell 3 percent to $24.08 billion, but beat the average estimate of $23.40 billion.

Oil futures fell from fresh four-month highs in choppy trading on Wednesday as comments from Russia’s energy minister added to doubts a producer meeting set for Sunday in Doha to discuss freezing output would yield a positive outcome. Brent crude settled down 51 cents at $44.18 per barrel, while U.S. crude settled down 41 cents at $41.76.

Wearable camera maker GoPro Inc (GPRO.O) named Apple Inc (AAPL.O) designer Daniel Coster as vice president of design, effective the end of April. Coster was a core member of Apple’s industrial design team for more than 20 years and is credited with contributing to devices such as iPhone 4 and iPad wireless keyboard, the company said in a statement.

Toyota Motor Corp. is recalling 60,000 Avalon and Camry sedans in North America because their front passenger air bags may not deploy in a crash. The recall involves Avalons and Camrys from the 2016 model year.