In Brief: Bank Stocks Slide After Weak Note Auction

Bank stocks were caught in a wave of selling Wednesday on renewed fears of interest rate increases.

The slide appeared to start after a tepid government auction of two-year Treasury notes. But analysts said Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan's comment Tuesday that the Fed's rate cut last fall may not have been needed to keep the economy strong may also have been a factor.

BankAmerica Corp. shares fell $3, to $63.9375; Chase Manhattan Corp. $3, to $78.875; and J.P. Morgan & Co. $3.8125, to $111.625.

The Standard & Poor's bank index slid 3.13% and the Dow Jones industrial average shed 1.52%. The Nasdaq bank index dipped 1.25% and the S&P 500 was off 1.40%.

- Karen Talley

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