Stocks drift higher; Banks gain as rates rise

6/17/2014

NEW YORK -- Stocks closed slightly higher today, led by gains in the financial sector.

Banks including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley rose today as long-term interest rates moved higher. That gave banks the prospect of earning more money from making loans.

The Dow Jones industrial average increased 27 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 16,808. Goldman Sachs rose the most of the 30 stocks in the index.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose four points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,941. The Nasdaq rose 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,337.

Bond prices fell after the government reported that consumer prices rose in May by the most in more than a year. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.65 percent.