Stocks Rise As Profits At Banks Provide Boost

TIM PARADIS

NEW YORK (AP) — Investors are finding encouragement about the direction of the economy from the latest batch of earnings reports.

Stocks rose Wednesday after a handful of banks, including Morgan Stanley, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo, posted better results for the July-September quarter. All of them also had higher loan losses, however, bringing fresh reminders that the broader economy is struggling even as the financial industry recovers.

Last week, Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. also reported higher credit losses as consumers and businesses struggle to pay off their bills.

The dollar fell to its lowest level against the euro since August 2008, lifting oil to a 2009 high. The rise in commodity prices helped energy and materials stocks.

Technology stocks rose after Yahoo Inc. and SanDisk Corp., a maker of flash memory cards, reported profits that topped analyst expectations after the close of trading Tuesday.

Other companies reported third-quarter results too, not all of them positive. Airlines slumped after American Airlines parent AMR Corp., Continental Airlines Inc. and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines posted losses.