Shares of Charles Schwab Corp. jumped 12% early Thursday but slipped halfway back after the company talked down takeover rumors.
Market speculation Wednesday and Thursday centered on HSBC Holdings PLC of London making a bid for Schwab. In a release Schwab said, "We remain firmly committed to our independence." The stock fell after the statement but crept higher in the last hour of trading.
Wall Street analysts gave little weight to the HSBC-Schwab rumors. In a research report Thursday, Mark Thomas, a London analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, wrote, "Strategically, U.S. retail broking is a low (nay invisible) priority for HSBC."
On the New York Stock Exchange, American depositary receipts for HSBC fell 1%. E-Trade Financial Corp., considered a possible Schwab merger partner, gained 5%.
UCBH Holdings Inc. of San Francisco gained 3.1 % after Brian Conn, of Sandler O'Neill & Partners LP raised his rating to "buy" from "hold" on the basis of expectations for a good second-quarter earnings report and on recent weakness in the stock.
The American Banker index of 225 banking stocks gained 0.28%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.25%.
Shares of Nara Bancorp Inc. of Los Angeles gained 5%. The company said late Wednesday that it had resolved an issue that was jeopardizing its listing on the Nasdaq National Market.
On Thursday, Nara stock resumed trading under the "NARA" symbol. For three months it had traded as "NARAE," the "E" having been added because the company had failed to file financial reports on time. It filed its 2004 and first-quarter reports June 30.
Among Thursday's big gainers were Santander BanCorp of San Juan, Puerto Rico, mostly owned by Banco Santander Central Hispano of Spain, up 3.9%; and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp. of Washington, up 2.7%.
Among decliners were Mercantile Bank Corp. of Grand Rapids, Mich., off 2.2%; Irwin Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ind., off 2.1%; and CoBiz Inc. of Denver, off 1.9%.
