Bank stocks and the broader markets fell Thursday after news that the unemployment rate had hit a 26-year high.
The KBW Bank Index fell 3.01%, the Dow Jones industrial average 2.63% and the Standard & Poor's 500 fell 2.91%.
The Labor Department said Thursday that 467,000 jobs were cut in June and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5%, from 9.4% in May. A total of 14.7 million people were unemployed in the United States in June.
Sal Guatieri, an economist at Bank of Montreal's BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note Thursday that, while they are moderating somewhat from earlier in the year, "job losses remain massive and are a continuing source of downside risk to the economic outlook."
Decliners were across the board. JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 3.6%, Bank of America Corp. 3.1%, Wells Fargo & Co. 4%, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. 3.7%, U.S. Bancorp 2.8% and Citigroup Inc. fell 8 cents, to $2.89.
Among the regionals, SunTrust Banks Inc. fell 1.2%, Capital One Financial Corp. 4.9%, BB&T Corp. 4.7% and Fifth Third Bancorp 3.9%.
