Wall Street today: US stocks surge on strong bank earnings, Morgan Stanley jumps 5.5%, BofA gains 4.9%

US stocks surged early on Wednesday as markets weighed the latest commentary regarding US-China trade tensions and robust bank earnings.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remarked that he was "optimistic" about the state of play with China following a period of recent ups and downs.

He also said discussions were now "at a very high level."

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Washington was considering cutting some trade ties with China, including in relation to cooking oil.

At 12:11 PM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 111.38 points, or 0.24%, to 46,380.79, the S&P 500 gained 32.59 points, or 0.49%, to 6,677.19 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 166.39 points, or 0.75%, to 22,689.83.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 104.7 points, or 0.23%, to 46,375.17. The S&P 500 gained 44.0 points, or 0.66%, at 6,688.27, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 216.8 points, a 0.96% rise, to 22,738.496.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.00% from 4.03% late on Tuesday.

Gainers and Losers

Bank of America rose 4.9% and Morgan Stanley jumped 5.5% after their third quarter results.

US-listed shares of ASML rose 3% after the company reported third quarter orders and operating income above Wall Street estimates.

Other chipmakers also climbed with Micron Technology gaining 1.4% and Advanced Micro Devices soaring 6.5%. Intel and Nvidia added 1.5% and 1.2%, respectively.

Abbott shares fell 2.7% on downbeat quarterly results.

Progressive Corp stock tumbled 7.8% after the insurer reported third quarter results.

Crude Oil

Oil prices bounced back on Wednesday, snapping a sharp decline that had pushed them to five-month lows in the previous session. The rebound came as investors carefully assessed the latest escalation in trade tensions between the United States and China.

By 1300 GMT, global benchmark Brent crude futures had gained 53 cents, or 0.85%, climbing to $62.92 a barrel. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures saw a slightly larger percentage gain, rising 62 cents, or 1.06%, to trade at $59.32 a barrel.

Bullion Market

Gold prices breached the $4,200 per ounce mark for the first time on Wednesday, extending a record rally as rising speculation over interest rate cuts and geopolitical jitters sent investors flocking to the safe-haven metal.

Spot gold rose 1.6% to $4,206.59 per ounce as of 14:19 GMT, having hit an all-time high of $4,217.95 earlier in the session. US gold futures for December delivery gained 1.4% to $4,222.30.

Elsewhere in the precious metals market, silver climbed 2.4% to $52.69, platinum rose 1.2% to $1,657.45, and palladium added 1% to $1,541.50.