(Reuters) – The S&P 500 crossed the 2,900 mark for the first time since early October on Friday, boosted by a jump in Walt Disney shares and as bank stocks surged after strong results from JPMorgan.

Shares of the largest U.S. bank by assets rose 4.1% after the company beat quarterly profit estimates, easing fears that slowing economic growth could weigh on its results.

The S&P financial index rose 2.3%, providing the biggest boost to the main index, while the S&P banks index gained 2.9%.

The main U.S. indexes have been in a holding pattern ahead of the first-quarter earnings season, which many analysts say could witness the first quarterly drop in S&P 500 profit since 2016.

“The market has been stagnated for a while and when you get a good report like JPM then that’s going to help sentiment and will probably be the main focus for the next three weeks,” said Robert Pavlik, chief investment strategist and senior portfolio manager at SlateStone Wealth LLC in New York.

Shares of Well Fargo & Co climbed 1.6% after reporting a 16.4 percent increase in quarterly profit, while PNC Financial Services Group Inc rose 2.5% after its first-quarter profit met estimates.

Another big gainer was Walt Disney Co, whose shares jumped as much as 12.3% to hit a record of $130.90 after the company priced its streaming service in a bid to challenge the digital dominance of Netflix Inc.

Netflix shares were down 3.6%. The communication services index was up 1%.

At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 263.82 points, or 1.01%, at 26,406.87, the S&P 500 was up 20.17 points, or 0.70%, at 2,908.49 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 35.45 points, or 0.45%, at 7,982.81.

Analysts project earnings growth at S&P 500 companies to decline 2.3 percent in the first quarter as the impact of tax cuts fade and worries about global growth come to the fore. Bank earnings are expected to grow 3%, according to Refinitiv data.

However, investors are hoping that the earnings season will be better than feared, helping the U.S. indexes reach all-time highs. The S&P 500 is just 1.1% away from a record high hit in September.

Data from China showed exports rebounded in March but imports shrank for a fourth straight month and at a sharper pace. The data, which eased concerns about a slowdown in world’s second largest economy, as well as a jump in oil prices offered support to global equities.

Grabbing the spotlight in the energy sector was Chevron Corp’s $33 billion offer to buy smaller rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Shares of Anadarko jumped 32.2%, while Chevron fell 5.3%.

The S&P energy index was up about 1%.

Shares of Anadarko’s peers were also up on the news. Devon Energy Corp and EOG Resources Inc gained more than 5% each, while Marathon Oil Corp was up 4.5%.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.61-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.27-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 39 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 61 new highs and 16 new lows.

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