April, 21, 2010

Renewed confidence about an economic recovery helped a rally on Wall Street on Tuesday, with energy and banking stocks leading the way, The New York Times’s Christine Hauser reported.The major indexes ended with modest gains as the price of oil rose nearly 2.5 percent as concern over the effect of volcanic ash on the European airline industry eased. That brought large gains to energy companies and stoked enthusiasm for commodities.

The financial sector was buoyed by better-than-expected earnings from Goldman Sachs, the fourth large bank to exceed first-quarter forecasts. Goldman reported a 91 percent increase in profit in the first quarter, to $3.46 billion, or $5.59 a share.But despite the glittering results, shares of the bank fell more than 2 percent, to $159.98. Goldman’s stock has struggled since Friday, when the Securities and Exchange Commission accused the company of fraud, sending its shares down nearly 13 percent.

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