U.S. Stocks Advance on Banks Rally, Consumer Sentiment Topping Estimates

U.S. stocks rallied, trimming weekly losses, after a gauge of consumer confidence topped projections and banks advanced as Congress diluted financial-reform legislation.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index climbed 0.3 percent to 1,076.41 at 10:04 a.m. in New York, paring its weekly loss to 3.7 percent.

Confidence among U.S. consumers rose in June to the highest level in more than two years, a private survey showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment increased to 76, the highest since January 2008, from 73.6 in May. The gauge was projected to rise to 75.5, according to the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Richard Bove, an analyst at Rochdale Securities LLC, discusses the impact of legislation overhauling the financial regulatory system on U.S. banks. Lawmakers from the House and Senate worked through the night in a 20-hour session to reach deals on a ban on proprietary trading by banks and oversight of the derivatives market. Bove talks with Betty Liu and Jon Erlichman on Bloomberg Television’s “In the Loop.” (Source: Bloomberg)