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Financial Winners & Losers: CME Group Soars

Debra Borchardt

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank reported a second-quarter loss of $8.86 billion, slashed its dividend and will be eliminating 10,750 jobs. Even if analysts exclude one-time items, it was still a huge miss for the forecasts.

Initially, the stock was trading in negative territory as expected, but then management said on the conference call that it wouldn't need to raise more capital, which led investors to think that maybe the bank was hitting bottom. That comment turned the sellers to buyers, and the stock was lately up 7.8% to $14.22.

The NYSE Financial Sector index also opened on the downside, but picked up and was advancing 46.47 to 6,394.03

Regional broker Jefferies Group(JEF Quote - Cramer on JEF - Stock Picks) beat analysts' estimates even though its second quarter was a loser. Jefferies lost $4.4 million or 3 cents a share, when the forecast was for a loss of 16 cents. Revenue fell 16%, while revenue from investment banking dropped a whopping 51%. However, investors seemed pleased with the results, pushing the stock up 11.4% to $19.30.

Commodities were smoking hot as CME Group (CME Quote - Cramer on CME - Stock Picks) reported that its second-quarter profit shot up to $201 million from $126 million a year ago. The world's largest derivatives exchange also announced that it had secured financing to support its acquisition of Nymex Holdings(NYX Quote - Cramer on NYX - Stock Picks). Bank of America and UBS are committed to financing the $3.2 billion deal. The stock was rewarded by the market as it gained 6.7% to $347.49, an increase of $22.14.

Key Corp.(RF Quote - Cramer on RF - Stock Picks) managed to squeeze some good news out of its dismal quarter, sending the stock up 3% to $11.84. The regional bank recorded a second-quarter loss and booked $1 billion in charges due to the tax treatment of a leveraged lease portfolio. But once the market had a chance to digest the numbers, it didn't seem so bad and the stock ticked up.

A similar story was played out for Fifth Third Bank(FITB Quote - Cramer on FITB - Stock Picks). It, too, reported a loss of $205 million for the second quarter and took a big charge for the accounting of leveraged leases. But the bank managed to beat analyst estimates and with that the stock moved up 5.5% to $14.12.

The same couldn't be said for the disappointing results for American Express(AXP Quote - Cramer on AXP - Stock Picks). Its second-quarter profits fell short of what the market expected and it warned that it wouldn't be able to meet its long-term financial goals if the economy doesn't improve. Struggling consumers are also spending less and not paying off their debt, which was not welcome news to the other credit card companies. American Express (AXP Quote - Cramer on AXP - Stock Picks) tumbled 9.4% to $37.05, while MasterCard(MA Quote - Cramer on MA - Stock Picks) slid $41.4 to $263.76.

Ahead of its earnings, Washington Mutual (WM Quote - Cramer on WM - Stock Picks) started trading in the red zone, but tried to rally back. The bank is expected to report a disappointing quarter on Wednesday. Lately its shares were selling at $5.40, a loss of 9 cents.

But the big loser on the day was Regions Financial(RF Quote - Cramer on RF - Stock Picks). The bank was heavily exposed to the Florida real estate market, which contributed huge loan losses and charge-offs. The stock collapsed as much as 12% at one point in the morning, but as the afternoon wore on, the stock managed to only lose 55 cents to $9.86, a decline of 5.1%.