Banks, lenders and other financial companies rose amid deal activity and expectations for higher interest rates. Commercial real-estate fund Gramercy Property Trust agreed to sell itself to investment firm Blackstone Group for about $4.42 billion in cash. In a sign that interest rates could rise further, benefiting banks, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin said it would be hard to justify interest-rate policy that stimulates growth when the economy is expanding solidly, unemployment is low and inflation is stable. Samsung Securities, the brokerage arm of the South Korean conglomerate, said it will file a criminal lawsuit against an employee who sold shares mistakenly issued in a so-called "fat finger incident" recently.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2018 16:34 ET (20:34 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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