Bank Stocks Get a Big Boost As Jobs Data Lifts Treasury Yields

Bank stocks rallied in premarket trade Wednesday, boosted by a rise in Treasury yields following a blowout private-sector jobs report. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF climbed 0.9%. Among the ETF's more heavily-weighted banking components, shares of Bank of America Corp. hiked up 1.7%, of Citigroup Inc. rose 1.3%, of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. gained 1%, of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. tacked on 1.2% and of Wells Fargo & Co. advanced 1%. The U.S. added 298,000 private-sector jobs in February, the most since April 2014, according to ADP. That sent the yield on 10-year Treasurys 5.1 basis points to a 2 1/2-month high of 2.563%. Higher long-term interest rates can boost bank profits, as they increase the spread between what banks earn by funding longer-term assets, such as loans, with shorter-term liabilities. The financial ETF has gained 4.3% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 5.4%.