Worries about the effect of government efforts to strengthen oversight of banks faded somewhat on Monday, helping Wall Street indexes to end the day mostly higher.

The banking sector remained in focus as traders tried to recoup some losses from Friday, when the broader market had its largest percentage drop in two months after Goldman Sachs was accused of fraud.

Goldman, which will report first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, clawed its way to a small gain after falling nearly 13 percent on Friday. It ended the day 1.6 percent higher at $163.32.

Citigroup surged 7 percent, to $4.88, after it reported a $4.4 billion profit in the first quarter. Morgan Stanley climbed 1.4 percent and Wells Fargo rose 1.4 percent.