Financial Winners & Losers: UBS
06/25/08 - 03:52 PM EDT
Debra Borchardt
Financial stocks were mostly positive Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to leave its key interest rate target unchanged.
Banks were also buoyed by mildly as the Fed continued to note caution on inflation, but did not yet hike rates. Positive analyst comments also buoyed some stocks. Zions Bancorp(ZION Quote - Cramer on ZION - Stock Picks) skyrocketed nearly 14% after a Citigroup analyst initiated coverage with a buy rating and a $47 target price. He suggested that the bank would not need to raise capital in such a way that shareholders would experience too much dilution. The stock was jumping 6.2% to $32.92. The NYSE Financial Sector Index advanced 53.03 to 6,609.13. The New York Post reported that UBS(UBS Quote - Cramer on UBS - Stock Picks) was hiring Lazard to advise it on strategic alternatives. The Swiss banking giant has been subject to huge losses related to the mortgage meltdown. UBS has also been forced to raise billions in capital to prop up its balance sheet. The stock shot up 3.7% to $22.84. Mortgage lenders Fannie Mae(FNM Quote - Cramer on FNM - Stock Picks) and Freddie Mac(FRE Quote - Cramer on FRE - Stock Picks) were lifted on news that Freddie's mortgage portfolio jumped at a 53.4% annual rate in May to $770.4 billion. However, purchase and sales commitments came in at $26.2 billion for May, a drop from the $43.5 billion in April. Freddie and Fannie shares were both up fractionally. Huntington Bancshares(HBAN was Quote - Cramer on HBAN was - Stock Picks) stock climbed nearly 14% in early trading after Citigroup initiated coverage on the bank with a hold rating. The stock was recently up 6.2% to $6.13. American International Group(AIG Quote - Cramer on AIG - Stock Picks) sold its 50% share in InterGen, a Norwegian power company, pushing the stock up fractionally to $29.88.
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