Financials Had A Bad Day On March 18 On Downgrades And Pessimistic Outlook
Following a series of downgrades, financial stocks were the third biggest losers yesterday. Concerns over the possibility of the sector's rally coming to an end also affected investors' appetite.
The decline in the sector was led by regional banks, with shares of Marshall & Ilsley Corp (NYSE: MI) falling 5.16%. Meanwhile, KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) shares lost more than 4% after Macquarie downgraded the company's stock to “neutral” from “outperform.”
Zions Bancorp (NASDAQ: ZION), which was cut to “neutral” from “buy” by SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, lost 2%. Other shares that fell sharply were Huntington Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ: HBAN) and Regions Financial Corp (NYSE: RF).
A note from Citi published a day earlier also hit the sector yesterday. The note labeled the global financial sector as a "problem child," partly due to the outperformance of the sector ever since the market had bottomed. Citi analysts also reduced their rating on the sector to “neutral” from “overweight.”
Read more from Benzinga's Markets.
