Banks and thrifts rebounded Wednesday after a down day in trading Tuesday.
The SNL U.S. Bank Index advanced 0.77% to 523.91, and the SNL U.S. Thrift Index gained 0.59% to 943.18 on Jan. 18. In the broader market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.11% to 19,804.72, but the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.31% to 5,555.66 and the S&P 500 finished up 0.18% to 2,271.89.
Citigroup Inc., U.S. Bancorp and Northern Trust Corp. released quarterly earnings before markets opened today.
Citi, which reported net income of $3.57 billion, or $1.14 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2016, saw its stock slide 1.70% to $57.39.
U.S. Bancorp was up 0.50% to $50.56, after reporting fourth-quarter 2016 net income applicable to common stockholders of $1.39 billion, or 82 cents per share. On the call, U.S. Bancorp Chairman and CEO Richard Davis said he will leave the banking industry after stepping down as the superregional's top executive.
Northern Trust declined 4.72% to $83.99, after reporting fourth-quarter 2016 net income applicable to common stock of $260.7 million, or $1.11 per share.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. tacked on 0.47% to $83.94, Wells Fargo & Co. edged 0.91% higher to $54.27 and Bank of America Corp. increased 2.63% to $22.63.
JPMorgan was also in the news today for two legal cases. In one, the U.S. Labor Department sued JPMorgan for allegedly paying several female IT employees less than their male counterparts over the last nearly five years. And separately, the company will pay the U.S. Justice Department a $55 million settlement for alleged discrimination against minority mortgage borrowers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
BB&T Corp., KeyCorp, Bank of New York Mellon Corp., M&T Bank Corp. and People's United Financial Inc. are the biggest banks scheduled to report earnings tomorrow, Jan. 19.
In the thrift space, New York Community Bancorp Inc. was up 0.90% to $15.74, and BofI Holding Inc. increased 0.61% to $28.08.
In economic news, mortgage applications increased 0.8% from a week prior on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Jan. 13, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported, citing its latest weekly mortgage application survey.
The consumer price index for all urban consumers increased 0.3% in December 2016 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.1% before seasonal adjustment.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index slipped two points in January, after jumping six points to reach the highest level since June 2005 in the previous month.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said she believes the U.S. central bank is close to achieving both full employment and stable prices in line with its long-term targets.
In the latest Beige Book, the central bank reported that the economy continued to expand at a "modest pace" across most regions from late November 2016 through the end of 2016.
Market prices and index values are current as of the time of publication and are subject to change.