US stocks finish down with bank shares
SPY•US stocks ended modestly lower on Tuesday as bank shares fell after quarterly results from major lenders. The S&P 500 banks index dropped 1.7%, with Citigroup down 5.6% and Wells Fargo down 3.1%.
1. Banks lead declines
The S&P 500 was close to flat, while the S&P 500 banks index fell 1.7% after results from Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. Citigroup shares dropped 5.6% and Wells Fargo fell 3.1%; Wells Fargo reported net interest income below estimates. Goldman Sachs slipped 0.2% and JPMorgan eased 0.9%.
2. Sector performance
Healthcare fell 1.3%, the biggest decline among S&P 500 sectors, while energy gained 1.7% and led sector advances. Johnson & Johnson shares fell 5.7% despite reporting earnings above estimates. Semiconductor shares declined 0.2%; Broadcom rose 0.7%, while Applied Materials fell 6.7%.
3. Earnings outlook
The bank results began the third-quarter S&P 500 earnings season. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies’ third-quarter earnings to have risen 30.6% year over year, with energy, technology and communication services leading sector earnings gains.
