Bank stocks rose Friday as investors seemed to anticipate some positive nuggets in third-quarter earnings reports.
The KBW Bank Index rose 1%, ending the week up 5.82%.
"We'll be watching with interest what happens with net interest margin — it should be strong because banks have been unloading high-cost liabilities — and whether early delinquency rates on loans will decelerate," said Gary Townsend, the chief executive of Hill-Townsend Capital LLC.
Gainers included JPMorgan Chase & Co., up 1.2%; Bank of America Corp., 1%; Wells Fargo & Co., 0.6%; PNC Financial Services Group Inc., 0.9%, and U.S. Bancorp, 1.5%.
Among the regional banking companies, SunTrust Banks Inc. rose 0.8%; BB&T Corp., 2.2%; Capital One Financial Corp., 0.4%; Zions Bancorp., 0.8%; Regions Financial Corp., 0.2%; Comerica Inc., 1.6%; Fifth Third Bancorp, 1.1%; Marshall & Ilsley Corp., 0.6%, and M&T Bank Corp., 4.5%.
Decliners included KeyCorp, off 0.5%; Huntington Bancshares Inc., 3 cents a share, to $4.55, and Citigroup Inc., 2 cents, to $4.63 a share.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index 0.56%.
