Wall Street climbs amid optimism for the banking sector

US stock indices climbed on Wednesday amid optimism for the US banking sector following statements by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Yellen said that liquidity in the US banking sector remains good, and added the US economy remains strong as consumer spending strengthens. 

Yellen expects US authorities to carry on efforts to control and cut down inflation in 2024 and 2025. 

Allianz chieft economist Muhammad Al-Aryan said that while concerns about a US debt default have subsided, markets now are looking forward to the Fed's efforts to contain inflation.

Despite risks surrounding high interest rates in the last 15 months, the tech sector was particularly brilliant amid the AI industry boom.

Otherwise, earlier US data showed the goods trade deficit declining by 23.9% y/y, as exports rose 5.8%, and imports tumbled 2.3% in April.

On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.1%, or 33 points as of 15:22 GMT to 33,606, while S&P 500 climbed 0.1%, or 4 points to 4,288, as NASDAQ added 0.1%, or 21 points to 13,297.