Stock market bounces back as banks post solid gains

NEW YORK – The stock market bounced back Friday, a day after suffering its second-worst loss this year. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and other big lenders posted solid gains even though many of them had their credit ratings cut the day before.

Analysts said the downgrades from Moody’s Investor Service late Thursday had been expected for months and removed some of the uncertainty that had been weighing on bank stocks.

“It’s been like a cloud over the sector,” said Brian Gendreau, market strategist with the broker Cetera Financial. “And look at who’s going up: bank stocks. There are obviously some people who thought it would be much worse.”

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 67.21 to close at 12,640.78. Bank of America gained 1.5 percent, or 12 cents, to $7.94, one of the best showings of the 30 stocks in the Dow.

Bank stocks rose across the board. Morgan Stanley rose 18 cents to $14.14. JPMorgan Chase climbed 48 cents to $35.99. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.51 points to 1,335.02 and the Nasdaq composite index climbed 33.33 points to 2,892.42.

Black Keys file suits against The Home Depot, Pizza Hut

LOS ANGELES – The Black Keys are not shilling power tools or pizza, the band said in copyright infringement lawsuits against The Home Depot and Pizza Hut.

The “Lonely Boy” band filed the federal lawsuits Thursday, claiming Home Depot did not have permission to use elements of the hit song in an ad promoting power tools and that Pizza Hut misused “Gold on the Ceiling” in a recent ad.

Both songs appeared on the rock group’s seventh album, “El Camino,” which was released last year and has sold nearly 840,000 copies. The Black Keys are comprised of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney. Musician-producer Brian Burton, who is known as Danger Mouse, is also suing the companies.

The cases seek unspecified damages of more than $75,000 apiece and an order preventing the continued use of the songs in the commercials.

Ryder System shares drop after lower earnings forecast

NEW YORK – Shares of Ryder System Inc. lost more than any stock in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index Friday as investors reacted to the truck leasing company’s lower earnings forecast for the second quarter and full year.

The Miami company late Thursday cut its expectations for both periods mostly due to reduced commercial truck rental demand. Ryder has over 25,000 late-model vehicles for rent, including vans and trucks.

The slowdown highlights the still-fragile state of the U.S. economy, because companies don’t need as many trucks to haul freight. The main trade group for the U.S. trucking industry said Tuesday that tonnage fell for two straight months in April and May.

Consecutive declines show that the economy is slowing, according to Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Association.

Ryder fell $5.31, or 13 percent, to close at $35.44. The stock traded as low as $35 in the session..

— From news service reports