Updated from 2:24 p.m. EST with new stock prices
Financial stocks were hit harder than most on Friday amid poor employment data that put the market in a generally somber mood. The NYSE Financial Sector Index underperformed both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 with a 2.8% slide to 7,893.94, in part thanks to more woes at Citigroup (C Quote). Keefe Bruyette analyst Diane Merdian estimated a more than 50% likelihood that the New York banking giant will cut its dividend, and she also amped up fourth-quarter expectations for mortgage-related writedowns at between $15 billion and $16 billion vs. the prior estimate of $11 billion. That should pressure a quarterly loss of $1.16 a share, said Merdian. Last week, a Goldman Sachs analyst -- who also had originally estimated Citi's writedown number at $11 billion -- ratcheted that figure up to $18.7 billion. Regions Financial (RF Quote) shared in the credit-crunch misery, plunging 10.7% to $20.80, after the Alabama bank said it will set aside some $360 million in the fourth quarter to cover bad credit, compared with $270 million last quarter. The provision, the girth of which is largely due to Regions' souring portfolio of homebuilding loans, comes to 1.45% of total loans vs. 1.19% last quarter.- Loading Comments...
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| Dow Jones | S&P 500 | NASDAQ | 10-Year Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,309.92 | 1,091.49 | 2,138.44 | 32.31 |
Oil *
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37.61
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0.48
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10 Yr
3.23%
SPDR Gold
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