After nearly a week of rallies, bank stocks retreated Friday.
The KBW Bank Index fell 1.43% after four days of gains that were buoyed in part by positive comments from the chief executives of Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp.
For the week, the index rose 37.43%.
"Many bank stocks rose 20% to 30% over the course of the week, so it didn't surprise me that they gave up a little bit of that gain on a Friday," said James Bradshaw, an analyst at Bridge City Capital LLC in Portland, Ore.
Bradshaw said he expects bank stocks to remain depressed in the coming weeks, because companies will be entering quiet periods before their first-quarter reports and will be unable to convey the kind of positive news that would boost stock prices.
"I suspect the bears will get some traction, now that the bulk of the good news is out," he said. First-quarter results will be "terrible" for the group in general, because of the weakened economy and continued issues with asset quality.
B of A fell 1.5%, to $5.76 a share. Wells Fargo & Co. fell 0.1%. U.S. Bancorp fell 1.4%. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. fell 1.4%. SunTrust Banks Inc. fell 6.5%. KeyCorp fell 3.3%, and Umpqua Holdings Corp. in Portland, Ore., fell 3.6%.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 2.4%. Citi climbed 11 cents, to $1.78, and Regions Financial Corp. rose 13 cents, to $3.89.
Richard Parsons, Citi's chairman, told Reuters on Thursday that it was one of the world's better-capitalized banking companies and did not need any more funds from the government.
The Treasury Department said last month that it would raise its stake in Citi by converting preferred shares into common stock. All told, the government has injected $45 billion into the New York company.
The broader markets, struggling to hold on to gains from the previous days, fluctuated Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.75%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.77%.
