These 2 Stocks Led the Dow Higher Monday

Most investors desperately wanted to see the stock market put together a solid rally following its extreme turbulence over the past several weeks. For the most part, the market cooperated, providing a strong advance that built on the intraday reversal that took the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.58%) out of prospective bear market territory. By the end of Monday's regular trading session, major market benchmarks were up between 1.5% and 2%, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.12%) leading the way and the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -1.15%) taking up the rear.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Several Dow stocks were up sharply, but two particularly noteworthy gainers were JPMorgan Chase (JPM -0.40%) and Visa (V 0.49%). The companies at the confluence of finance and technology have seen significant drops recently, but a lot of things about their respective businesses are pointing toward long-term strength. Let's look more closely at why JPMorgan and Visa were among the best performers in the Dow.

JPMorgan paints a prettier picture of the future

Shares of JPMorgan Chase were up more than 6% on Monday. The move came after the company released its presentation as part of its investor day for 2022.

JPMorgan gave investors a lot to think about, but much of it was more positive than many had expected. The banking giant boosted its 2022 projections for net interest income to $56 billion, up by $3 billion  from its previous guidance and considerably higher than the $44.5 billion JPMorgan booked in 2021. It's hopeful that despite the Federal Reserve's increasingly hawkish stance on short-term interest rates, it will be able to capitalize on rates approaching 3% by the end of the year. Moreover, credit card revolving balances are growing, helping the Chase card business.

For now, JPMorgan sees credit outlooks remaining healthy. 2021 charge-offs were historically low, so even a reversion to more normal conditions would take some getting used to for investors. Yet the bank believes that fiscal stimulus has put consumers in a strong enough position to delay the full impact of any slowdown past the end of 2022.

With a strong balance sheet and ongoing generation of new capital, JPMorgan sees itself in a strong position. Shareholders agreed today, and that provided a nice boost to the entire banking sector .

Image source: Getty Images.

Visa gains ground

Meanwhile, Visa shares rose more than 4%. That was less than JPMorgan's percentage move, but because of its higher share price, Visa had the biggest influence on the Dow for the day.

Some investors have worried that Visa might get left behind in the disruptive wave of financial technology start-ups hitting the market. Yet with billions of cards outstanding and a massive electronic payments network already in place, Visa has actually been on the cutting edge of financial innovation, and it has made more than its fair share of partnerships with fintech disruptors wanting to gain credibility in a hurry.

Visa has faced its share of struggles, including suspending all of its Russian operations in March 2022. Yet institutional investors have gotten increasingly excited about the stock as it has given up ground, starting the day down more than 20% from its highs.

Visa has exposure to economic conditions, but it's also more resilient than many believe. That gives it defensive characteristics that not everyone appreciates. But today, Visa got recognized for some of its strengths.