Stocks slumped slightly Wednesday, Nov. 22, on little news and ahead of a U.S. holiday.
The SNL U.S. Bank Index lost 0.34% to 575.79, and the SNL U.S. Thrift Index dropped 0.08% to 933.32.
Markets struggled to notch gains ahead of a midweek close for the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving. Little news came out during the day, providing little direction or momentum for stocks to offset profit-taking.
In central bank news, the European Central Bank is reassessing its corporate bond purchase plan for its effectiveness and influence on the credit supply to the euro area economy, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous euro area officials familiar with the details. The review comes as ECB is about to decide how it will implement a slowdown in quantitative easing scheduled for January 2018.
Domestically, the U.S. committee responsible for setting monetary policy remained divided over the outlook for inflation, with a few cautioning against a rate hike while inflation remains below the Federal Reserve's 2% target, according to the Nov. 22 release of the minutes. Many of the Federal Open Market Committee participants think another rate hike is "likely to be warranted in the near term," according to the release.
Among the money centers, Citigroup Inc. declined 0.06% to $72.34,
Simmons First National Corp. increased 1.90% to $56.35, Guaranty Bancshares Inc. improved 1.19% to $29.80 and Flushing Financial Corp. expanded 1.94% to $28.35. First Interstate BancSystem Inc. fell 1.42% to $38.10, Park National Corp. decreased 1.10% to $107.76 and First of Long Island Corp. lost 1.53% to $28.35.
Among thrifts, New York Community Bancorp Inc. dropped 0.23% to $12.84.
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