What Earnings Tell About U. S. Economy

Citigroup and other major U.S. banks said customer spending has eclipsed pre-pandemic levels.

U.S. stocks jumped Thursday, bolstered by better-than-expected earnings and economic data that helped ease investor concerns about inflationary pressures and a slowdown in growth.

Wall Street is booming, or at least parts of it are. Merger mania and stock trading lifted the big U.S. banks’ third-quarter results.

On Main Street, banks are still hunting for bigger loan growth, but many customers are spending more after holding out last year.

The S&P 500 rallied 1.7%, on pace for its best day since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by about 530 points, or 1.6%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.7%.