Bank stocks outpaced the broad market into positive territory on Friday as a healthy August jobs report sparked buying in the sector after a weak performance last month. The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index BKX, +1.41% rose by 1.2%, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLF, +0.96% rose 0.7% and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KRE, +1.66% rose 1.7%. The three indexes were running ahead of a 0.4% rise by the S&P 500 SPX, +0.42% and a 0.5% gain by the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.59%.
4%, Bank of America Corp. BAC, +1.29% rose 1.5%, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. GS, +0.60% rose 0.4%, Citigroup C, +0.88% rose 0.9%, Morgan Stanley MS, +1.20% moved up 1% and Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, +1.33% rose by 1.1%. In August, Bank of America lost 10.4%, JPMorgan Chase fell 7.4%, Citigroup fell 13.4%, Wells Fargo dropped 10.6%, Goldman Sachs dropped by 7.9% and Morgan Stanley moved lower by 7%. The KBW Nasdaq Bank Index dropped 8.8% in August, while the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF fell 8.