MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Poised For Best Day In 2 Months As Financial Shares Rally

Dow climbs more than 100 points

A rally by financial stocks on Wednesday helped lift U.S. equity indexes with the S&P 500 poised for its best day in two months.

The large-cap index has been somewhat "fickle" this month with three of this year's biggest gains and two of its worst losses having occurred in June, according to Frank Cappelleri, executive director of Instinet.

The S&P 500 climbed 21 points, or 0.9%, to 2,440. Financials led the gainers, rallying 1.5%.

The yield on 10-year Treasurys was up at 2.22%, having risen to a one-month high in the previous session. Higher long-term borrowing costs mean banks can earn bigger spreads on their loans. Pressure on technology stocks, which suffered a pullback in recent sessions, also eased.

"Stocks are fairly valued and technology shares had done really well. Seeing dips in some of the highflying shares at this stage is healthy," said Kim Forrest, senior analyst and portfolio manager at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 144 points, or 0.7%, to 21,455, with shares of Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) leading the charge.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 78 points, or 1.3%, to 6,225. The small-cap Russell 2000 index jumped 1.6% to 1,425.24, trading near its all-time high close of 1,425.99.

"U.S. technology stocks have been very weak lately, both in absolute and relative terms...massive outperformance year-to-date is the segment's biggest weakness," said Peter Garnry, Saxo Bank's head of equities strategy, in a note Wednesday. "Valuations are historically high in U.S. tech stocks, and sentiment has weakened fast over the past 24 hours."

The three major indexes all fell Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-stocks-on-track-to-slip-hurt-again-by-a-drop-for-techs-2017-06-27), after a delay to a vote on health-care bill prompted worries about the prospects for President Donald Trump's pro-growth agenda.

Read:Politics may be tearing the country apart, but stocks are loving it (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/politics-may-be-tearing-the-country-apart-but-stocks-are-loving-it-2017-06-27)

U.S. oil futures added more than 1%, shrugging off data that showed crude supplies rose (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-seesaws-as-eia-reports-modest-rise-in-us-crude-supplies-2017-06-28) by 100,000 barrels. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported an unexpected weekly rise of 851,000 barrels in U.S. crude supplies (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-fall-as-sources-say-api-data-show-an-unexpected-rise-in-us-crude-supply-2017-06-27). .

Economic docket: An early look at U.S. trade patterns in May points to a small decline in the nation's trade deficit. Also, the pending home-sales index from the National Association of Realtors (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/pending-home-sales-stumble-as-low-inventory-chokes-market-2017-06-28) slid 0.8%, marking the third straight monthly decline. Economists had forecast a 0.5% rise.

See: MarketWatch's economic calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic).

Stocks in focus:General Mills Inc. shares (GIS) rose 2% after the food company posted fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and sales topped Wall Street's estimates. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/general-mills-tops-earnings-and-sales-estimates-2017-06-28)

First Potomac Realty Trust(FPO) fell 2.2% after Government Properties Income Trust (GOV) reached a deal valued at $1.4 billion to buy the real-estate investment trust. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/first-potomac-realty-trust-to-be-bought-in-a-14-billion-deal-by-government-properties-2017-06-28)

Monsanto Co.(MON) shares gained 1.1% after the agricultural products company reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc.'s IPO pricing will be set later Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/blue-apron-needs-its-customers-to-eat-more-food-2017-06-27). The meal-kit maker has lowered its price range to $10 to $11 from a prior $15 to $17 range.

Other markets: The ICE Dollar Index , which measures the dollar against a basket of six currencies, was off 0.4%. Gold futures edged up 0.2%.

Stock markets in Asia finished mostly higher and European stocks struggled at two-month lows as the euro popped on Draghi's hawkish comments (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecbs-draghi-hints-at-winding-down-of-eurozone-qe-2017-06-27).

--Carla Mozee contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 28, 2017 15:11 ET (19:11 GMT)