Markets Right Now: Banks lead early stock gains

NEW YORK (AP) – The latest on developments in financial markets (All times local):

Stocks are opening higher on Wall Street, led by solid gains in banks.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley jumped 3.3 percent in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday after reporting higher earnings than analysts were expecting, thanks partly to strong trading results.

Rising bond yields were also helping banks. Higher yields allow banks to charge higher interest rates on loans. Bank of America rose 1.6 percent.

IBM slumped 4.9 percent after reporting sales that missed estimates.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 7 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,349.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 6 points, less than 0.1 percent, to 20,529.

The Nasdaq composite increased 30 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,880.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.20 percent.