(By Balachander) U.S. stocks jumped more than 1 percent - breaking a six-day losing streak - buoyed by earnings from banking giants J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) as well in-line growth data from China.
S&P 500 Index jumped 1.65 percent to close at 1,356.77. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.62 percent to end at 12,777.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.48 percent to finish at 2,908.47.
On the domestic economic front, a data showed that core producer-prices index for June rose 0.2 percent, flat with previous month and in line with economists expectations. The headline index unexpectedly inched up 0.1 percent last month after a 1.0 percent drop in May, with expectations of a 0.5 percent fall. The University of Michigan consumer-confidence reading for July declined to 72.0 from 73.2 in June.
China said its gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter was 7.6 percent, down from 8.1 percent in the first quarter, with the growth at its slowest place in around three years. The reading, which came in-line with market expectations, increased speculation that policy makers will take action to boost stimulus measures.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: JPM, WFC, LXK, PSX, CYT, BPI
In corporate news, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) added 5.96 percent after the banking giant posted quarterly revenue that topped Wall Street projections. Earnings dropped 7.4 percent in the second quarter, hit by losses on CIO's synthetic credit portfolio.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) rose 3.23 percent after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings as lending rose and the amount of bad loans fell.
Lexmark International Inc. (NYSE:LXK) plunged 16.25 percent after the Lexington, Kentucky-based maker of printers warned of lower second-quarter results amid weaker demand environment, chiefly in Europe.
Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) added 5.85 percent following reports that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. investement managers acquired shares in the oil refiner. Phillips 66 was spun off by ConocoPhillips this year.
Cytec Industries Inc. (NYSE:CYT) rose 3.94 percent after the New Jersey-based specialty chemicals and materials company forecast earnings for the second quarter above market forecasts.
Bridgepoint Education Inc. (NYSE:BPI) slumped 24.67 percent after an accreditation group sought details about enrollment at the California-based company's Ashford University.
Global Markets:
European markets closed sharply higher, with Germany's DAX up 2.15 percent to close at 6,557.10. France's CAC40 added 1.46 percent to finish at 3,180.81. U.K.'s FTSE 100 jumped 1.03 percent to end at 5,666.13.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index inched 0.01 percent higher to close at 2,185.73. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.05 percent to end at 8,724.12. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 0.35 percent to end at 19,092.63. India's BSE Sensex finished at 17,213.70, down 0.11 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Crude oil futures rallied 1.32 percent to $87.22 per barrel and natural gas futures inched 0.07 percent higher to $2.876 per million metric British thermal units. Gold futures added 1.51 percent to $1,588.9 per ounce and silver futures added 0.46 percent to $27.67 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro rose 0.32 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.2242. The British pound gained 0.93 percent against the greenback to 1.5571, and the dollar fell 0.06 percent against the Japanese yen to 79.2600.