TARP Repayments, Rating Upgrades Give Financials A Facelift (HIG, DFS, UNM, LNC, GGP, SPG, CIT)

The financial sector stood out in the Standard & Poor's 500 as it led the gains today. The sector was propelled by upgrades in rating for some insurers and the repayment of government bailouts. Some of the financial stocks that outshone today are:

Hartford Financial Services Group (NYSE: HIG) rose 5.87% at 2:02 pm. A day before, the company had announced plans to repay its loan amounting to $3.4 billion received from the government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) shares were also being driven ever since the company said it will repay its TARP loans amounting to $1.2 billion. DFS was up 0.39% at 2:09 pm.

Unum Group (NYSE: UNM) and Lincoln National Corp (NYSE: LNC) were among the biggest gainers in early trading. Shares of both the companies soared after analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded their rating for these insurers in a note published pre-market. Bank of America Merrill Lynch had also raised the target price for these life insurance stocks by 9% on an average.

General Growth Properties’ (NYSE: GGP) stock had climbed 5.43%, while Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPG) had moved 1.52% at 2:16 pm. The news that drove up these stocks was a report from The Wall Street Journal that indicated that SPG is sweetening its takeover bid for GGP. The offer is likely to be more impressive than that offered by General Growth Properties’ investors.

CIT Group Inc (NYSE: CIT) shares stirred from their slumber and added 4.08% after its fourth-quarter conference call. During the call, CIT’s chief executive John Thain said that his focus is now on strengthening the senior management team, improving the company’s relationship with regulators, improving the debt structure and cutting costs.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.