S&P 500′s Financials Take a Beating

The Standard & Poors 500 Index dropped from its month high with a five-point
loss early Tuesday, taking the index to 1,205. Recent reports on housing,
consumer confidence and jobs continue to point to weakness in the U.S. economy.
Financial stocks were the leading losers for the S&P this morning, mostly
because of damage from Hurricane Irene. Declining stocks outnumbered those
advancing by more than 2-to-1. The S&P 500 is up more than 5% for the week but
down more than 4.7% for the year. Down almost 4%, or $1 per share, to around $20
was Lincoln National (NYSE: LNC ). Flood bills from Hurricane Irene are expected
to pile up for Lincoln. For the week, Lincoln Financial is up more than 10%. For
the quarter, however, it is down almost 30%. Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION
) was off about 40 cents, about 2.2% per share, to under $16.70. Like so many
other financials, it has been a good week for Zions, up almost 15%. For the
quarter, Zions is down almost 30% and is trading double digits below its 50- and
200-day moving averages. First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN ) was down
about 3% to around $7, dropping more than 20 cents a share. Up almost 15% for
the past week, First Horizon is down more than 30% for the quarter. First
Horizon is trading double digits beneath its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM ) rose to more than $5 per share, picking up about 40
cents for an almost 9% jump. Ticonderoga Securities issued a "buy" for Pulte
this morning. Also, expected business from Hurricane Irene and a jump in home
prices had Wall Street driving Pultegroup higher. For the week, PulteGroup is up
more than 22%, but its down almost 40% for the year. Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S )
shot up more than 10 cents to around $3.60 per share, a gain of about 3%. Sprint
is up more than 6% for the week but off more than 40% for the quarter because of
poor earnings. Sprint was upgraded by Collins Stewart and Stifel Nicolaus this
month. Sprint is trading beneath its book value of $4.45 per share. A leading
loser yesterday, JDS Uniphase (NASDAQ: JDSU ) was showing the benefit of mean
reversion trading, going up about 60 cents, or 5%, to over $12.90 a share. This
morning, an "outperform" rating was reaffirmed for JDS Uniphase by RBC
Capital Markets. For the week, JDS Uniphase is up almost 25%, but its down about
40% for the quarter. Jonathan Yates does not own any of the stocks mentioned in
this article.