Bank stocks rebounded somewhat Tuesday as investors picked up bargains after Monday's selloff.
The KBW Bank Index rose 0.98%, after its 6.65% decline the day before on news of slower-than-expected global economic recovery.
"Investors are leveling off from positions from yesterday's activity," said Matthew Shields, a trader at FIG Partners LLC.
Bank stocks dipped after the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday morning that home sales rose 2.4% in May, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.77 million, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.66 million in April. Economists on average had expected home sales to rise to an annual pace of 4.81 million.
However, bank stocks recovered to close in positive territory, though not by much. Shields said that investors are cautiously gearing up for the release of second-quarter earnings reports, starting in mid-July.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 2.1%, Bank of America Corp. 2.4%, Wells Fargo & Co. 1.8%, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. 1.8%, U.S. Bancorp 2.1% and Citigroup Inc. 1 cent, to $3.01 a share.
Among the regional banking companies, SunTrust Banks Inc. was up 3.1%, M&T Bank Corp. 1.6%, BB&T Corp. 0.7% and Huntington Bancshares Inc. 5 cents, to $4.16.
The decliners included KeyCorp, off 4.2%; Zions Bancorp., 1.3%, and Regions Financial Corp., down 8 cents, to $3.76 a share.
In the broader markets the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.19%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 0.23%.
