S&P 500 ends above 4,500 level for first time in 15 months as stocks gain ahead of bank earnings

Stocks rose for a fourth day in a row on Thursday, a day ahead of second-quarter earnings from America’s biggest lenders. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.14%
rose about 46 points, or 0.1%, ending near 34,394, according to preliminary data from FactSet. But the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.85%
gained 0.9% to end at 4,509, clearing the 4,500 mark for the first time since April 5, 2022 when it ended at 4,545.86, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+1.58%
scored another blockbuster day, up 1.6%. Investors have been optimistic as inflation pressures ease and as perhaps the best-telegraphed U.S. economic recession in recent history has yet to materialize. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have been charging higher on buzz about AI technology, with much of this year’s stock-market gains fueled by a small group of stocks. The risk-on tone ahead of earnings from JPMorgan Chase and Co.,
JPM,
+0.49%
Wells Fargo
WFC,
+1.04%
and Citigroup
C,
+0.63%,
had the U.S. dollar
DXY,
+0.01%
earlier on pace to end at its lowest level since early April 2022. Treasury yields also continued to fall, with the 10-year
TMUBMUSD10Y,
3.779%
rate back down to 3.759%, after topping 4% in recent weeks. The six biggest banks are expected to issue a deluge of fresh debt after earnings, despite the Federal Reserve having sharply increased rates and borrowing costs for businesses and households to tame inflation.