Banking stocks were soft Monday as the broader markets rose on promising manufacturing and consumer spending data, suggesting that investors remain nervous about the state of the financial sector as the economy stabilizes.
The KBW Bank Index fell 0.44%, to 47.24.
The Dow Jones industrial average, meanwhile, rose 0.76%, and the S&P 500 index 1.02%.
The markets benefited from a report by the Institute for Supply Management that U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in February for a seventh straight month, though the pace of expansion slowed from a month earlier. Also, the Commerce Department said consumer spending grew 0.5% in January.
The news failed to lift most banking stocks, though some large players closed higher, including PNC Financial Services Group Inc., up 0.09%; M&T Bank Corp., 0.48%; Bank of America Corp., 0.3%; Wells Fargo & Co., 0.04%, and Fifth Third Bancorp, 0.25%.
BB&T Corp., meanwhile, fell 2.56%; KeyCorp, 2.52%; JPMorgan Chase & Co., 0.33%; Regions Financial Corp., 1.48%, and Citigroup Inc., 1 cent a share, to $3.39.
