Dow jumps 372 points as US stocks surge on rescue plans for struggling banks

• US stocks closed higher Thursday, swinging from earlier losses.
• First Republic Bank will receive a $30 billion deposit from larger rivals.

US stocks staged a relief rally Thursday as Wall Street banks agreed to aid First Republic Bank after Silicon Valley Bank's implosion last week rocked the industry and forced regulators to dampen contagion risks.

Stocks reversed earlier losses as reports about a liquidity deal for First Republic Bank rolled in. A group of banks led by JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup later confirmed plans to deposit $30 billion into the embattled San Francisco-based lender.

First Republic Bank shares soared after plunging in recent days. PacWest turned higher, with Reuters reporting it too was in talks with investment firms to receive funding.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,960.28, up 1.76%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,246.55, up 1.17% (371.98 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 11,717.28, up 2.48%

JPMorgan on Thursday estimated that the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program may inject up to $2 trillion into the banking system.

The Fed set up the Bank Term Funding Program to prevent a run on deposits at banks like the kind that swarmed Silicon Valley Bank after it sold a bond portfolio for a $1.8 billion loss last week.

Embattled Credit Suisse also landed help, with the Swiss National Bank offering the lender $54 billion in liquidity late Wednesday.

Here's what else is happening today:

• Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel said the SVB collapse could be a good development if it "knocks some reality" into the Fed to pause rate hikes.
• FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried transferred $2.2 billion to his personal account from parts of his crypto empire.
• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway spent nearly $500 million on Occidental stock in three days.
• "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman says it'll be bad news for stocks if the Fed pauses rate hikes because of the banking panic.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $68.38 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, slipped 2 cents to $74.68.
• Gold fell 0.4% to $1,932.80 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield turned higher, rising 9 basis points to 3.55%.
• Bitcoin bulked up by 2.7% to $25,039.01.