Bank stocks get a broad boost from recent big jump in Treasury yields

Bank stocks were getting a big, broad boost Tuesday with Treasury yields rallying for a second-straight day, as fears that the spike the omicron variant of the coronavirus will hurt the economy continued to fade. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF KBE, +3.27% rallied 2.3% toward a six-week high, with all 93 of its equity components gaining ground, after climbing 2.0% on Monday. Among the ETF’s most active components, shares of Bank of America Corp. BAC, +4.56% rose 3.4%, Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, +4.38% tacked on 3.1%, Citigroup Inc. C, +2.25% gained 2.2% and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM, +4.03% advanced 2.9%. Bank and broker Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock GS, +3.69% rose 3.2% to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s DJIA, +0.94% gainers. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 1.667% rose 4.2 basis points to a 2 1/2-month high of 1.670%, after surging 11.6 basis points on Monday. Rising longer-term interest rates can help banks grow profits, as they can widen the spread banks earn on longer-term assets, such as loans, that are funded by shorter-term liabilities. The bank ETF has now gained 4.9% over the past three months, while the Dow has advanced 8.4%.