US STOCKS-Wall Street rises as big banks kick off earnings season

* Goldman Sachs up as profit jumps on record dealmaking
* JPMorgan falls despite profit surging nearly five-fold
* Coinbase will list on Nasdaq later in the day
* Indexes up: Dow 0.44%, S&P 0.10%, Nasdaq 0.11%

(Updates prices to open)
By Shivani Kumaresan and Shreyashi Sanyal
April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes rose on Wednesday
after upbeat earnings reports from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan
boosted investor expectations of a strong rebound for corporate
America amid swift COVID-19 vaccinations.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS.N rose 3.3% after it reported a
massive jump in first-quarter profit, capitalizing on record
levels of global dealmaking activity. JPMorgan Chase & Co's JPM.N shares fell 1.1% even as the
largest U.S. bank's earnings jumped almost 400% in the first
quarter, as it released more than $5 billion in reserves it had
set aside to cover coronavirus-driven loan defaults.
"It certainly is a solid quarter (for banks) ... often the
stocks run up into news and then at least initial reaction is
some profit taking and we were seeing that this morning in
JPMorgan," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments
in New Vernon, New Jersey.
"I think investors who have invested in the banking sector
will feel good about the results and which are likely keep them
invested in the sector."
Wells Fargo & Co WFC.N reported first-quarter profit ahead
of Wall Street estimates as the bank reduced its reserves by
$1.6 billion and costs tied to its years-old sales practices
scandal stabilized. Shares of the bank dipped 0.7%. Seven out of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors were higher in
early trading, with financials .SPSY up 0.4%, while the S&P
500 banks index .SPXBK edged 0.3% lower.
The S&P 500 financials sector was one of the best performers
in the first quarter, rising 15%, even as the Federal Reserve
pledged to keep interest rates low in the near future.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to participate in a
virtual Economic Club of Washington interview later in the day.
First-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated
to have risen 25% in the quarter, according to Refinitiv IBES
data. That would be the biggest quarterly gain since 2018, when
tax cuts under former President Donald Trump had powered profit
growth.
Earnings at S&P 500 firms had dropped 12.8% in the first
quarter of 2020 and 30.6% in the second, according to IBES data
from Refinitiv.
At 09:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI
rose 145.73 points, or 0.44% , to 33,823.00, the S&P 500 .SPX
gained 4.13 points, or 0.10 %, to 4,145.72 and the Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC gained 15.22 points, or 0.11 %, to 14,011.32.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms including Riot
Blockchain RIOT.O and Marathon Digital Holdings MARA.O rose
ahead of Coinbase Global Inc's COIN.O listing on the Nasdaq, a
day after bitcoin hit a record high of over $63,000.

The S&P 500 posted 33 new 52-week highs and no new lows,
while the Nasdaq recorded 74 new highs and 12 new lows.