Stocks have pulled back from their early session highs, when the
S&P 500 was sporting a 2.9% gain. Still, the S&P 500 is well
off its session low, when it traded with a 1.5% loss.
The financial sector (+0.2%) has failed to register the solid gains of
the the other major economic sectors. Major diversified financial
services companies (+1.1%) like JPMorgan Chase (JPM 37.59, +0.42) and
Bank of America (BAC 22.96, +0.30) are trying to provide leadership,
but the likes of Allstate (ALL 27.50, -0.73) and Goldman Sachs (GS
108.39, -6.32) are holding the sector back.
Allstate posted a loss of $0.35 per share for its most recent quarter
after experiencing a 19% year-over-year drop in revenue. The insurer
also had its outlook revised lower to Negative from Stable by Standard
& Poor's. Meanwhile, Goldman is planning to cut around 10% of its
workforce, according to reports.