Banking stocks rebounded with other stocks Friday, with help from earnings reports in the technology sector.
The KBW Bank Index closed up 2.3%, to 42.66, snapping a three-day slide.
The software company Oracle Corp. and the Blackberry maker Research in Motion Ltd. both reported profits that beat expectations.
"I think the tech results gave some confidence to the market, and that helps a critical sector like banking rebound," said William D. Rutherford, president of Rutherford Investment Management.
It was a bumpy week for banking stocks. The entire sector slid as Citigroup Inc. failed to extricate itself from the government's control by raising $17 billion in the largest U.S. equity offering offer ever. The Treasury Department decided not to unload its stake in Citi, because the low price of that offering meant the agency would have lost hundreds of millions of dollars selling its shares.
Rutherford called the week's turmoil a "pothole" and said that overall banks are stabilizing.
Citigroup rose 20 cents, or 6.25%, to $3.40, after falling to as low as $3.13 Thursday, its lowest point since August.
Two other companies that recently repaid their federal aid, Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp., ended the week on a high note. Bank of America, which named a new chief executive this week, rose 1.14% and Wells Fargo rose 2.69%.
Other gainers for the day included JPMorgan Chase & Co., 1.69%; PNC Financial Services Group Inc., 2.58%; M&T Bank Corp, 2.32%; U.S. Bancorp, 2.39%; and Regions Financial Corp., 2.25%.
