Financial Winners & Losers: CME Group Soars

Financial stocks started off in negative territory but rallied as the market gained some comfort from Wachovia Bank's(WB Quote - Cramer on WB - Stock Picks) statement that it wouldn't need to raise more cash.

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.

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