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JPMorgan profit surges 52% on robust consumer business
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Wells Fargo, Citi profits climb on higher interest income
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BlackRock profit beats on robust inflows
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Indexes down: Dow 0.57%, S&P 0.42%, Nasdaq 0.71%
(Updates prices throughout)
By Ankika Biswas and Sruthi Shankar
April 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes fell on Friday
as mixed economic data added to worries that the Federal Reserve
will not pause its interest rate hikes soon, while upbeat
earnings helped the banking sector emerge as a rare bright spot.
JPMorgan Chase & Co , Citigroup Inc and Wells
Fargo & Co beat analysts' estimates for first-quarter
profit, signaling resilience through the banking crisis in
March.
JPMorgan's shares rallied 7.3%, set for its steepest one-day
gain in over two years, while Citigroup rose 3.8%. The S&P 500
Banks index rose 3.3% to a one-month high, among the
few sectors to outperform.
"In terms of the actual headline announcement, the earnings
picture looks pretty good ... some of it was boosted by the
flight of deposits to large banks from the small- and mid-sized
banks," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at
Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.
"That big surge in deposits went a long way in boosting net
interest income margins that otherwise might not see the same
boost on a regular basis."
The broader market came under pressure as investors fretted
over the prospect of interest rates staying higher for longer as
data this week signaled a slowing U.S. economy, but not weak
enough to push the Fed off its course.
A drop in retail sales for the second straight month
suggested that the economy was losing steam, while industrial
production increased by 0.4% in March, double the rate
economists had predicted.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan's preliminary April
reading showed households expected inflation to rise over the
next 12 months.
Traders largely stuck to bets that the Fed will raise rates
by another 25 basis points in May.
Mixed views from Fed officials also weighed on the mood.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said another 25-bps
rate hike can allow the Fed to end its tightening cycle, while
Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee urged the central bank to
be prudent on policy with recession now being certainly
feasible.
Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors were in the red, with real
estate and utilities leading declines.
Among other earnings-driven moves, BlackRock Inc rose 2.8% after the world's largest asset manager beat analysts'
estimates for quarterly profit.
At 11:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 192.86 points, or 0.57%, at 33,836.83, the S&P 500 was down 17.53 points, or 0.42%, at 4,128.69, and the
Nasdaq Composite was down 86.12 points, or 0.71%, at
12,080.15.
Boeing Co slid 6% after the planemaker halted
deliveries of some 737 MAXs due to a supplier quality problem by
Spirit AeroSystems . Spirit AeroSystems' shares tumbled
18.5%.
Lucid Group Inc dropped 7.5% after the luxury
electric-car maker reported first-quarter production and
delivery figures that were lower than the preceding three
months.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.59-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 2.42-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded nine new 52-week highs and two new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 34 new highs and 134 new lows.
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Bank stocks lag S&P 500 this year ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar, Ankika Biswas and Bansari Mayur
Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and
Shounak Dasgupta)
