Wall Street Holds Steady

Merrill Lynch downgraded Capital One (COF Quote), American Express (AXP Quote) and Discover Financial Services (DFS Quote) to sell from neutral. Discover fared the best, and it declined 3.2%.

Also, Morgan Stanley cut Capital One to underweight and sliced its price target nearly in half, and Stifel lowered its rating on American Express to hold.

American Express, down 4.3%, was the worst performer on the Dow, and it offset strength in Alcoa (AA Quote) and Verizon (VZ Quote).

The NYSE Financial Sector Index gave back 0.5%, and the Amex Securities Broker/Dealer Index was up 0.1%. The KBW Bank Index was off 1.4%.

An easing in oil prices helped transports move upward. The Dow Jones Transportation Average increased by 1.8% and the Amex Airline Index by 3%. Oil was down $1.95 to $88.28 a barrel.

Asia's major markets were mixed overnight. Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 2.4%, and Tokyo's Nikkei was better by 0.5%. In Europe, London's FTSE and the Paris Cac gained 1.1% and 0.8%, respectively. Frankfurt's Dax rose 0.7%.