Bank stocks were mostly higher Wednesday, amid an overall rise in equity prices.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 3207.37, up 14.05 points.
Among the biggest gainers in the banking sector, Wells Fargo & Co. closed at $74, up $2.125; First Interstate rose $1, to $41.375; and National City Corp. closed at $46.50. for a gain of $1.
Citicorp rose 25 cents, to $18.125. Kidder, Peabody & Co. analyst Thaddeus Paluszek upgraded the stock to a hold. He had rated Citi an underperformer.
Meanwhile, S.G. Warburg & Co. analyst Frank Suozzo recommended that investors swap out of Barnett Banks into First Union Corp.
First Union closed at $38.375, up $1.25. Barnett slipped 12.5 cents, to close at $42.50.
