Stocks rise on Wall Street, even the most beaten-down banks

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising on a calming Wall Street Tuesday, even the banks most beaten down by the industry's crisis, amid hopes for more help from the U.S. government.

The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in midday trading after halving a bigger gain from the morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 131 points, or 0.4%, at 32,376, as of noon Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

Markets around the world have pinballed sharply this month on worries the banking system may be cracking under the pressure of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. If the S&P 500 squeezes out a gain, it would mark its first back-to-back rise in two weeks.

In the U.S., shares of smaller and mid-sized banks rose after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a bankers' group more government assistance “could be warranted” if risks arise that could bring down the system.

Earlier this month, the U.S. government said it would make depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank whole, even those with more than the $250,000 limit insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. They were the second- and thirdlargest U.S. bank failures in history.

They had struggled as depositors rushed to pull their money out en masse. Such runs can topple a bank, and investors have since been hunting for the next one that could fall. Much focus has been on First Republic Bank, which shares some similar traits with Silicon Valley Bank, and its stock had lost 90% for the month through Monday.

It jumped 39.6%

Tuesday.

Other smaller and mid-sized banks also rallied, including a 7.2% climb for Comerica and a 7.7% gain for Zions Bancorp.

Hopes for the banking industry began to turn over the weekend after regulators pushed together two huge Swiss banks. Shares of both banks in that deal rose Tuesday in Switzerland, including a 9.8% jump for acquirer UBS. Credit Suisse, meanwhile, rose 5.3% after tumbling a day earlier.