Financial Stocks Are Mixed Today

The financial sector remained volatile today, led by mixed housing market data. Followed by losses in early trading hours, the sector witnessed gains for some time, only to lose some of its steam as the session advanced. Existing-home sales recorded a surprise drop in May. However, another report released today indicated that US home values soared in April. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF, which ended even in yesterday’s session, tumbled 0.2% to $14.78 by 2:30 pm today. The sector’s best performer Jefferies Group Inc JEF rallied 7.52% to $24.59. The company announced today that its quarterly profit had risen 37%, beating Wall Street estimates. Robust investment-banking revenue was cited as the reason for the incredible growth. Other financial stocks leading the gains include Bank of New York Mellon Corp BK and JP Morgan Chase & Company JPM. BK has launched a new company that will clear futures and derivatives on behalf of individual clients. JP Morgan announced this morning that head of investment banking for the Americas, Doug Braunstein, will be the new chief financial officer of the company. T Rowe Price Group Inc TROW, MasterCard Inc MA and Visa Inc V are some of the stocks that are trading in negative territory today. Analysts at Ticonderoga Securities today downgraded TROW from “buy” to “neutral.” Read more from Benzinga's Markets.