US credit card issuers up after BofA upgrade

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Capital One Financial Corp (COF.N), Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), and American Express Co (AXP.N) rose in premarket trading Monday after Bank of America, Merrill Lynch upgraded the companies to 'neutral' from 'underperform.

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Bank of America Merrill said that economic recovery should accelerate to help investors see the sector of credit cards more optimistic. Analysts said the companies likely to benefit from improved trends in credit demand and a better buy.

Capital One shares rose 1.7 percent to $ 38.56, Discover shares added 3.1 percent to $ 15.65, while American Express climbed 1.4 percent to $ 39.85.

(Reporting by Eduardo Krúdy, Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)