Wall Street ends sharply higher, dollar dips on UK U-turn, strong earnings

U.S., European stock indexes advance
Bank of America’s earnings beat fuels rally
Sterling, euro rise against the dollar
Benchmark Treasury yields rise for 3rd straight in row

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) – Wall Street jumped to robust gains on Monday as solid earnings and a financial policy reversal in Britain fueled risk appetite and boosted the sterling and euro against the greenback.

All three major U.S. stock indexes rallied to end the session 1.9% to 3.4% higher while and the dollar lost ground against a basket of world currencies.

“The catalysts that have triggered in the markets year-to-date are well-known,” said Joseph Sroka, chief investment officer at NovaPoint in Atlanta. “Now, investors are looking for green shoots of catalysts that can start to provide some improvement.”

Stocks were primed for a strong open after Britain’s new finance minister Jeremy Hunt scrapped…