NEW YORK: US stocks opened higher Tuesday buoyed by banks including First Republic, which saw its share price soar more than 30 percent in early trading.

The S&P 500 index opened up 1.0 percent at 3,991.33, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose 1.0 percent to 32,579.42. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.9 percent to 11,785.75.

Wall Street ends sharply lower on bank contagion fears

The rally in stocks on Wall Street comes a day before a crucial interest-rate decision from the US Federal Reserve, which is seeking to balance above-target inflation with the ongoing concerns about the financial markets in the wake of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB).

A number of the regional banks buffeted by SVB’s collapse saw their share price rise in early trading, with Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida up around 4.3 percent, and KeyCorp trading some 3.9 percent higher.