- Financial stocks advance across much of the sector in midday trading, even though Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted at a willingness to cut interest rates to protect the U.S. economic expansion.
- Trade tensions eased slightly after Mexico's leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he's hopeful the country will come to a deal to avoid tariffs threatened by President Trump.
- Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) rises 2.2%, on pace for its biggest one-day gain since April 1 if it closes at recent trading price of $26.77.
- All the U.S.-based megabanks surge: Bank of America (BAC +4.1%), Citigroup (C +4.3%), JPMorgan Chase (JPM +2.7%), Goldman Sachs (GS +3%), and Morgan Stanley (MS +3.9%).
- Regional banks also benefit: Bank OZK (OZK +4.3%), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN +3.6%), Axos Financial (AX +3.1%), KeyCorp (KEY +3%), SunTrust Banks (STI +2.9%), and CIT Group (CIT +2.7%) are among the strongest.
- Credit-card and consumer finance firms rise: Alliance Data (ADS +2.8%), Discover Financial (DFS +2.6%), Capital One (COF +2.6%), Santander Consumer USA (SC +2.5%), Ally Financial (ALLY +2.6%), and Credit Acceptance (CACC +2%).
- Life insurance also perks up: Brighthouse Financial (BHF +5.2%), MetLife (MET +2.3%), Prudential (PRU +3.2%), Principal Financial (PFG +2.8%), Aegon (AEG +4.1%).
- Asset managers: Blackrock (BLK +2.8%), Ameriprise Financial (AMP +3.6%), T. Rowe Price (TROW +2.7%).
Financials help fuel stock rally
Financial Select Sector SPDR® Fund ETF (XLF), BAC Stock, C Stock, JPM Stock, GS Stock, MS Stock, OZK Stock, HBAN Stock, AX Stock, KEY Stock, STI Stock, FCNCA Stock, BFH Stock, DFS Stock, COF Stock, SC Stock, ALLY Stock, CACC Stock, BHF Stock, MET Stock, PRU Stock, PFG Stock, AEG Stock, BLK Stock, AMP Stock, TROW StockLiz Kiesche, 34 Comments