Stocks Jumped at the Open, Led by Banking Stocks

U.S. stocks opened with solid gains on Friday, led by a rally for banking stocks, after clearing the Federal Reserve’s stress test. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 223.64 points, or 0.92%, to 24,439.69. The S&P 500 gained 18.21 points, or 0.67%, to 2,734.52. The Nasdaq Composite added 49.92 points, or 0.67%, to 7,553.61.

Oil prices climbed on Friday as U.S. sanctions against Iran threatened to remove a substantial volume of crude oil from world markets at a time of rising global demand. Benchmark Brent crude jumped $1.49 to a high of $79.34 a barrel. U.S. light crude was unchanged at $73.45.

U.S. consumer prices accelerated in the year to May, with a measure of underlying inflation hitting the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for the first time in six years. Consumer prices as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.2 percent after a similar gain in April. In the 12 months through May, the PCE price index surged 2.3 percent.