What happened

Many large bank stocks rose today after several banks presented strong earnings reports this morning, and as the market got some good news on interest rates.

Shares of the largest bank in the U.S. by assets, JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.25%), rose more than 4.5% on Friday. Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS 0.85%) rose 4.5%, and Goldman Sachs (GS 1.22%) was up 4.3%.

So what

JPMorgan Chase reported earnings for the second quarter of the year on Thursday and saw its shares sell off after the bank missed analyst estimates for the quarter. Furthermore, JPMorgan said yesterday that it would suspend share repurchases for the time being as it builds capital to prepare for higher regulatory capital requirements in 2023 and 2024.

Morgan Stanley also reported earnings yesterday and struggled as investment-banking revenue came in lighter than expected. Investors hadn't been expecting a good quarter, considering that events such as initial public offerings have been very limited all year due to market volatility and uncertainty. Still, the bank missed estimates for investment-banking revenue.

For this reason, I don't think investors have had super-high expectations for Goldman Sachs, as it prepares for earnings Monday, considering its large investment banking business.

But today, investors seemed to reverse course. First, large banks, including Wells Fargo and Citigroup, reported earnings that seemed to please the market, sending shares of both banks surging. Citigroup in particular smashed estimates thanks to a strong performance from its Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) business, which reported its best quarter in a decade. Shares of Citigroup rose more than 13% today.

Another thing that likely helped bank stocks today was the fact that Fed Governor Christopher Waller and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, two of the more-hawkish members of the board, said they supported a 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed's next meeting later this month. That seemed to catch the market off-guard in a positive way, because it had been thinking that the Fed could raise interest rates by a full percentage point.

Earlier this week, new data showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the prices of many consumer goods and services, had risen 9.1% in June on a year-over-year basis, which is more than economists had expected. Investors use the CPI to track inflation, so the extra-hot reading had some on edge about a full-percentage-point rate hike.

Banks benefit from inflation because it is usually accompanied by rising interest rates. But too much inflation hurts consumer finances and slows business activity, which naturally hurts banks because they are linked to the economy.

Now what

The more aggressive the rate hikes, the greater the likelihood of a recession. Rising rates are also likely to slow consumer and business spending, so the market seemed to be relieved by the 75-basis-point news.

Bank earnings reports also showed that consumers and businesses remained in solid financial shape in the second quarter.

I am generally bullish on bank stocks right now after they have been heavily sold off this year. They will benefit from the rising interest rates, have enough capital to withstand a modest recession, and are still seeing strength in the economy -- and even though that last point could change soon, I still like the set-up.