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| - Wall Street stocks rose in early trading Wednesday following strong banking earnings ahead of an appearance by Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell. Profits from JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo were all much higher than in the year-ago period, reflecting a strengthening economy and a blowout performance in businesses tied to Wall Street trading and financial advisory services. Still, two of the three banks fell early Wednesday, reflecting earlier share price gains in anticipation of the results. "These stocks, and many others in the financial sector, had made huge moves leading up to the reports in anticipation of this very good news, so the tepid response on the actual news is understandable," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare. About 30 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 percent to 33,866.99. The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 percent to 4,150.68, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent at 14,032.72. Powell is set to appear later Wednesday at the Economic Club of Washington. The Fed chief has repeatedly downplayed the chances for a sudden shift in monetary policy due to higher inflation. The appearance follows data released on Tuesday showing a rise in consumer prices. jmb/cs
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