NEW YORK — Upbeat news for banks and homebuilders pushed the stock market broadly higher Monday, extending its gains for the month.
Better-than-expected results from Citigroup Inc. drove financial stocks up by more than 2 percent, halting a recent slide brought on by questions into how banks have handled foreclosures.
Citigroup said fewer of its customers defaulted on loans, an encouraging sign that borrowers may be returning to financial health. Citi’s shares rose 5.6 percent, lifting shares of other banks along with it, including Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.
Bank shares swooned last week as fallout spread from accusations that banks had improperly processed large numbers of foreclosures.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.91, or 0.73 percent, to 11,143.69.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 8.52, or 0.72 percent, to 1,184.71, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 11.89, or 0.48 percent, to 2,480.66.
Investors will be turning their attention to corporate earnings this week as dozens of large companies report their results. Broad economic reports have been the main factor driving stock trading in recent months.
“Earnings will be at the forefront,” said Mike Schenk, vice president of economics and statistics at the Credit Union National Association. “Underlying that will be any information we get out of the consumer sector.”
Schenk said the health of the consumer will probably be more apparent in earnings outlooks from consumer-goods companies and Thursday’s weekly unemployment report.
