US stocks bounce back, with banks leading the way

FILE- In this Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street appeared headed for a higher opening, Friday June 22, 2012 a day after the Dow sustained its second-worst loss of the year. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.4 percent to 12,546 and S&P 500 futures added 0.4 percent to 1,323.50. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

FILE- In this Thursday, June 21, 2012 file photo, a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Wall Street appeared headed for a higher opening, Friday June 22, 2012 a day after the Dow sustained its second-worst loss of the year. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.4 percent to 12,546 and S&P 500 futures added 0.4 percent to 1,323.50. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The stock market bounced back Friday, a day after suffering its second-worst loss this year. The unlikely leaders: banks.

JPMorgan Chase led the Dow Jones industrial average up on Friday. The gains came even though Moody's cut credit ratings for the two banks, along with 13 others, after the market closed Thursday.

The Dow climbed 57 points to 12,631 a half hour after noon Eastern. That's a rise of 0.5 percent.

Moody's had been warning that it would make the move since early this year. Analysts said the step by Moody's removes one piece of uncertainty that had been weighing on banks.

"It's been like a cloud over the sector," said Brian Gendreau, market strategist with the broker Cetera Financial. "And look at who's going up: bank stocks. There are obviously some people who thought it would be much worse."

In a note to clients, analysts at the investment bank Keefe Bruyette & Woods called Morgan Stanley "the clear winner" and said JPMorgan took second place. They said some analysts had expected Moody's to lower Morgan Stanley's rating by three notches, instead of the two-notch cut it received.

Morgan Stanley rose 1 percent, gaining 14 cents to $14.11. JPMorgan Chase jumped 2 percent, adding 72 cents to $36.24. Bank of America edged up 2 cents to $7.84.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6 points to 1,331 and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 16 points to 2,874. The early gains turned the Nasdaq positive for the week.

Bank stocks were the strongest industry group among the 10 tracked by the S&P 500 index. Only two sectors fell, industrial and materials companies. The gains were small but widespread. Of the 30 stocks in the Dow, only three fell.

The Dow and S&P are headed for their first week of losses since June 1. The biggest drop of the week came Thursday, when a trio of weak manufacturing reports stirred fears about the global economy. The stock market took its second-steepest fall this year. The worst was June 1, after a dismal U.S. jobs report rattled markets.

Even with those losses, the S&P 500 is still up 1.5 percent this month. To Gendreau, it looks like investors have been overreacting to recent economic reports. "The market is getting jerked around," he said. "The economic data point to a softening economy, but we've had a softening economy for three years now."

Among other stocks making big moves:

? Truck leasing company Ryder System plunged 11 percent, the worst decline in the S&P 500 index. The Miami-based company cut its earnings forecast for the second quarter and full year, blaming weak demand for commercial truck rentals and unusually high costs for medical benefits. The stock lost $4.58 to $36.17.

? Darden Restaurants lost 2.2 percent after the restaurant operater said sales fell nearly 4 percent its Red Lobster locations and 2 percent at Olive Garden, as an earlier Lenten season and Easter holiday affected the quarter. Darden also said national advertising for both chains was "less effective than anticipated." The stock fell 97 cents to $49.42.

Associated Press

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