Bank Stocks Surge Ahead As Lawmakers Agree On Less Stringent Banking Reforms

Following a deal reached by lawmakers regarding new legislation for governing the financial services sector, shares of several financial companies surged today. In the talks that ended early today, lawmakers agreed on several proposed rules that were less stringent than was feared by people. The deal brought relief to investors who were bracing themselves for bad news. The Financial Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund, which tracks financials in the S&P 500, was up 1.33% by 10:36 am EDT. The company that is leading the sector today is Moody's Corp MCO, which climbed 524% by 10:36 am. Other shares that are on the gaining spree today include Marshall & Ilsley Corp MI, CME Group Inc CME, JP Morgan Chase & Co JPM, Huntington Bancshares, State Street Corp STT and Citigroup C. Analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods said in a research note, “We believe [banks] can still act in a money management capacity and, thus, we view the most recent revisions as a modest positive relative to our prior expectations.”