US stocks open higher, led by gains for financial companies

Source: AP-Excite

By STEVE ROTHWELL

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, led by gains in financial stocks after a number of banks got approval from the Federal Reserve to raise dividends and buy back shares.

Stocks were also higher as the dollar weakened against the euro for the first day in the past nine.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 16 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,056 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 161 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,797. The Nasdaq composite gained 22 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,872.

U.S. JITTERS: U.S. stocks have slumped in March on speculation that the Federal Reserve could raise its benchmark interest rate as soon as June. The Fed has held its benchmark lending rate close to zero since 2008 to help the economy recover from the financial crisis and the deep recession that followed. Against that backdrop, stocks have rallied to record levels.

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FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 8, 2011 file photo, a pedestrian walks past the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Financial stocks are leading an early gain in U.S. trading Thursday, March 12, 2015, a day after a number of banks announced dividend increases and stock buybacks. (AP Photo/Jin Lee, File)

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