The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2% to 16,404 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 0.2% to 1,843. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 0.4% to 4,200.
Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, reported Wednesday that its profit surged in the fourth quarter and loans on its balance sheet continue to improve. Shares climbed 3.5% to $17.35 in early trading.
That follows results from JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo that topped earnings forecasts on Tuesday.
Technology stocks were also among the early gainers: Apple rose more than 2% to $558.95; Microsoft was up 1.7% to $36.40; Intel gained 0.8% to $26.73.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.91% from 2.87% on Tuesday.
Stocks ended higher during the previous session, giving Wall Street its best day of the year. The Dow closed up 0.7%, a gain of 115.92 points, to 16,373.86; the S&P 500 index gained 1.1% to 1,838.88. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 1.7%, ending at 4,183.02.
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Markets overseas were moving higher after the World Bank reported that advanced economies appeared to have turned the corner after five years of financial crises and recession. It forecast global growth will firm to 3.2% this year from 2.4% in 2013.
"Equity markets welcomed the international financial organization's outlook for 2014, in which it raised its global growth forecasts for the year," said David Madden, market analyst at IG.
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In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index saw strong gains, up 2.5% to 15,808.73 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.5% to 22,902.00.
Markets in Europe rose as Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.8% ! to 6,820 and Germany's DAX gained 1.9% to 9,720.
Benchmark U.S. crude for February delivery was up 78 cents to $93.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 79 cents to close at $92.59 on Tuesday.
Contributing: Associated Press
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