The first trading day of the new year was a good one for bank stocks.
Amid reports from several analysts predicting that beleaguered bank stocks are poised for a rebound in 2012, shares of many large-cap and regional banks were up sharply Tuesday.
Leading the way were Citigroup Inc., whose shares rose nearly 8%, to $28.34, and JPMorgan Chase & Co, whose shares were up 5.2%, to $34.98. Bank of America Corp., the worst-performing large-cap bank stock in 2011, rose 4.3%, to $5.80.
Among regional banks, shares of Fifth Third Inc. climbed 3%, to $13.08; Huntington Bancshares Inc. was up 2.5%, to $5.60; and United Community Banks Inc. of Blairsville, Ga., climbed 3.4%, to $7.23.
In a report issued Tuesday, analysts at RBC Capital Markets predicted that bank stocks could increase 20% to 25% over the next 12 months as overall credit quality improves and "loan growth and capital generation lead to more normalized earnings at some point in late 2013."
RBC is particularly bullish on Fifth Third, Wells Fargo & Co. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which it named its top three picks for 2012. Wells' shares were up 3% Tuesday, while PNC was up 2.3%.
Analysts at Barclays Capital, Morgan Stanley and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. have also released reports recently predicting that regional bank stocks in particular will rebound in 2012.
For the day, the KBW index for large bank stocks was up 3.2% and its index for regional banks was up 2.7%.
