NEW YORK, March 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, lifted by a solid rebound in bank shares, as investors digested February inflation readings that were roughly in line with estimates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 336.26 points, or 1.06 percent, to 32,155.4. The S&P 500 added 63.53 points, or 1.65 percent, to 3,919.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 239.31 points, or 2.14 percent, to 11,428.15.
All the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and technology up 2.75 percent and 2.29 percent, respectively, outpacing the rest.
Financials climbed 1.89 percent, becoming the third best-performing group, as bank shares surged, recouping some of their losses in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank fallout.
Market participants continued to interpret the risks within the U.S. banking sector.
On the economic front, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent in February, after increasing 0.5 percent in January, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday. Headline annual inflation rose 6 percent, the smallest increase since September 2021.
The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.5 percent in February for an annual increase of 5.5 percent, showed the report.
"Even amid current banking scares, the Federal Reserve will still prioritize price stability over growth and likely hike rates by 0.25 percent at the upcoming meeting (next week)," Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL Financial Research, said in a note on Tuesday.
Investors also looked ahead to February U.S. Retail sales data and the producer price index, both of which are slated for release on Wednesday.
