Regional bank stocks surged on Thursday, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF posting its best one-day advance since March. The ETF climbed 4.21% on Thursday, bringing its weekly gain to 8.41%. The S&P Composite Regional Bank index also jumped 3.75% on Thursday and is up 7.60% for the week.
Individual banks also saw significant gains, with Eagle Bancorp, Brookline Bancorp, ServisFirst Bancshares, Valley National Bancorp, and Tompkins Financial Corp all outperforming the benchmarks by wide margins. Valley National has risen 13.7% so far this week, while Eagle Bancorp is up 13.3% and Tompkins Financial is ahead by 10.7%.
In other news, private aviation company Wheels Up surged 20% as the Russell 2000 index jumped nearly 3.6%. Wheels Up, a provider of on-demand private flight services, is also enjoying a 111% gain in July, tracking for its best month ever. Delta Air Lines is the largest shareholder of the company, holding 38% of its shares as of the end of March.
Fellow Russell 2000-member Joby Aviation also saw a significant increase, rising 19.7% in Thursday’s trading. It was the best session for the stock since June 28, 2023.
Overall, stock futures opened little changed on Thursday, with investors closely monitoring the market movements and looking for potential opportunities in the banking and aviation sectors.
