Bank stocks staged an across-the-broad retreat on Wednesday amid a broad selloff in both the stock and bond markets.
Only one of the top 25 bank stocks - Chase Manhattan Corp., up 62.5 cents to $39.50 - was able to tally a gain for the day. It was the weakest market outing for the banks in over a month.
Recently, banks have enjoyed a strong rally. Several have set 52-week highs and many are near peak levels, prompting some Wall Street analysts to put "hold" signals on the stocks.
Most analysts blamed Wednesday's selloff on the bond market. Despite the economic signs pointing to low inflation, bond investors have focused on rises this week in some commodity prices. As a result, bond prices have fallen.
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Citicorp Slips
Among money-center banks, Citicorp was off 25 cents to $41.625, J.P. Morgan & Co. was down 25 cents to $65.25, and Bankers Trust New York Corp. was off 62.5 cents to $71. Chemical Banking Corp. was unchanged at $40.375.
Among the superregionals, Banc One Corp. was down 25 cents to $37.50, NationsBank Corp. was off 37.5 cents to $55.375, Norwest Corp. fell 37.5 cents to $27.625, and PNC Bank Corp. dropped 37.5 cents to $30.50.
"It's premature to be getting off the bandwagon," said George M. Salem of Prudential Securities Inc. "The outlook for interest rates, the economy, bank earnings, and the banks' price-to-earnings ratios still point to a very attractive group."
Among the major California banks, Wells Fargo & Co. was down $1 to $157.625, First Interstate Bancorp was off 50 cents to $79.25, and BankAmerica Corp. was unchanged at $49.125.
In two of the sharpest declines of the day, MBNA Corp., fell $1 to $26, and First Chicago Corp. surrendered $1.125 to $53.
