People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, June 29, 2022 in New York. Stocks are opening lower across the board on Wall Street, Tuesday, July 5, and crude oil prices are dropping again. Treasury yields also fell as traders continued to worry about the state of the economy (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks shook off an early stumble and gained ground Thursday amid hopes for help for a bank at the center of Wall Street’s hunt for what may crack next in the struggling industry. The S&P 500 was 1.8% higher in afternoon trading after erasing an earlier loss following reports that First Republic Bank could receive financial assistance or sell itself to another bank. This week has been a whirlwind for markets globally on worries about banks that may be bending under the weight of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades.