What happened

JPMorgan Chase (JPM 2.51%) saw its stock price rise on Friday, as it was up about 2.7% as of around 1:40 p.m. EDT. The stock was trading at about $141 per share at that time, up roughly 5.3% year to date.

The markets were surging higher on Friday, as the S&P 500 was up 62 points (1.5%), the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 665 points (2%), and the Nasdaq Composite gained 138 points (1.1%) as of 1:40 p.m. EDT.

So what

Friday was a good day for the markets, which certainly helped JPMorgan Chase, the nationʻs largest bank. Among the catalysts, the U.S. Senate voted to raise the debt ceiling on Thursday, just one day after the House passed it. Failure to do so by the June 5 deadline would have led to a default and economic catastrophe. Banks thrive in strong, growing economies, so this was, to say the least, good news for JPMorgan Chase.

In addition, the May jobs report was better than expected, with 339,000 jobs added. But the unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.7% due to a decrease in self-employment jobs. Also, wages did not rise as much as expected. Investors may view this uptick as a further sign that the Fed could start easing.

But JPMorgan has also made some news in the past couple of days. On Thursday, it was reported that JPMorgan Chase would close 21 branch locations of the recently acquired First Republic Bank. That amounts to roughly one-quarter of the 84 First Republic branches. The closed branches were lower-volume locations near more popular branches, and the affected employees will be offered transitional jobs and a chance to apply for openings at JPMorgan Chase.

Now what

Also on Thursday, the bank launched a Payments Partner Network, which allows third-party partners to be integrated into its payment platform. This will make it easier for JPMorgan Chase clients to discover and access solutions and products from its partners.

"J.P. Morgan has one of the largest payments ecosystems in the world, with hundreds of live third-party integrations spanning virtually every industry and use case. The Partner Network will make it easier for our clients to efficiently discover and assess the best product partners to suit their business needs," said Jason Tiede, global head, corporate development and partnerships at J.P. Morgan.

JPMorgan Chase had a blowout first quarter and stands as a rock-solid buy as one of the country's best, most efficient banks.