NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are climbing Wednesday afternoon. Banks are making the biggest gains after JPMorgan Chase posted quarterly results that weren't as bad as analysts anticipated. Industrial companies rose on signs of strength in China's economy.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 158 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,879 as of 1:53 p.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 15 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,077. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 54 points, or 1.1 percent, to 4,925.

BANK ON IT: JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., said its first-quarter profit fell because of weak results in its investment banking business. Its profit and revenue were bigger than analysts expected, however, and the stock rose $2.66, or 4.5 percent, to $61.94.

Several other major banks will report earnings this week. Bank of America picked up 57 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $13.84 and Wells Fargo rose $1.37, or 2.9 percent, to $49.14. Citigroup jumped $2.38, or 5.7 percent, to $44.28.

THE QUOTE: Julian Emanuel, U.S. equities and derivatives strategist for UBS, said it didn't take much to send banks, the worst-performing sector in the market this year, higher.

"Bank stocks have been so beaten up that any good news, either on better credit conditions driven by higher energy prices or news on cost-cutting, is likely to underpin those stocks," he said.

Banks have slumped this year because investors are worried they will take big losses on loans to energy companies, and because interest rates in the U.S. are still low. That reduces' the profits banks can make on loans.

RIDE THE RAILS: Railroad operator CSX gained $1.10, or 4.4 percent, to $26.09. The company's profit fell as demand for coal got weaker and CSX hauled less freight, but expenses fell, partly because fuel costs dropped.

Other railroad stocks surged. Union Pacific added $2.05, or 2.6 percent, to $81.69 and Norfolk Southern rose $2.69, or 3.4 percent, to $81.41.

RETAIL SALES: Consumer goods companies fell after the Commerce Department said retail sales fell a bit in March. Americans have been cautious about their spending this year even though gas prices are low and jobs are growing. Tobacco company Reynolds American lost $2.24, or 4.4 percent, to $49.02 and Altria fell $2.31, or 3.6 percent, to $66.08.

Tyson Foods gave up $2.29, or 3.3 percent, to $66.08 and Clorox declined $2.24, or 1.7 percent, to $125.93. Campbell Soup shed 97 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $63.01.

RISE OF THE MACHINES: Industrial stocks rose on reports that exports from China grew 11.5 percent in March compared with a year earlier. That was the first annual gain since June, and it's a sign of life from China's economy.

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar rose $2.27, or 3 percent, to $78.37 and engine maker Cummins climbed $5.01, or 4.6 percent, to $112.81.

HIT THE GAS: Delphi Automotive rose $3.44, or 4.8 percent, to $75.79. Two years ago the IRS argued that some of Delphi's businesses were based in the U.S. and should be taxed accordingly. Delphi said Wednesday that the agency agrees that's not the case.

STRIKE: Verizon Communications slipped after around 39,000 landline and cable workers walked off the job Wednesday morning. Verizon's contracts with its unions expired about eight months ago and little progress has been made in negotiations. The stock declined 79 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $51.16.

MORE COAL DAMAGE: Peabody Energy, the largest coal company in the U.S, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Several other coal companies have gone bankrupt recently as environmental, technological and economic changes ripple through the industry. Arch Coal, the second-largest coal miner in the country, filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

NO DEAL: Spice and herb seller McCormick is giving up on an effort to buy Premier Foods of Britain. McCormick offered to buy the company last month for $764 million, and McCormick stock lost $1.71, or 1.7 percent, to $97.19.

OVERSEAS: France's CAC 40 rose 3.3 percent and while Germany's DAX added 2.7 percent. The FTSE 100 in Britain rose 1.9 percent. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 2.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 3.2 percent.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 21 cents to $41.96 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 36 cents to $44.33 a barrel in London. The price of oil jumped more than 4 percent Tuesday to reach its highest levels of 2016.

BONDS, CURRENCIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped to 1.76 percent from 1.78 percent. The dollar rose to 109.25 yen from 108.53 yen and the euro fell to $1.1276 from $1.1397.

METALS: Precious and industrial metals futures ended mixed. Gold lost $12.60 to $1,248.30 an ounce, silver edged up 10 cents to $16.33 an ounce and copper rose two cents to $2.17 a pound.

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AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/marley-jay