Stocks Climb With Commodities Surge

Stocks closed higher today as a result of growing commodities prices, meaning gains for companies like Alcoa and Chevron. Continuing the week’s upward trend, the Dow gained 0.86 percent on Thursday, the Nasdaq rose 1.32 percent, and the S&P 500 gained 1.15 percent. Buying in the financial sector and broader market increased as the result of an analyst’s note that said banks are at the beginning of a multi-year bull market. The note from RBC Capital was the most positive remark by a major i-bank research department on the banking sector in several months. Additionally, oil prices continued to increase to $68.81 a barrel, doubling their mid-February lows and marking a seven-month closing high.