Bank of America Idles as Market Stays Flat

Robert Eberhard, The Motley Fool
Updated

Bank of America joined the rest of the market, and remained relatively flat on little news, ending the day down 0.68%.

Economic news out of Asia, including increasing bond yields in Japan, and weak manufacturing data from China, led the market down early this morning, before the market recovered and ended the day nearly even. For long-term investors, this was just another day that should have little impact on investing ideas going forward.

Other big banks see small losses
Bank of America was not alone in trading down today, and the rest of the Big Four banks joined the market decline:

  • JPMorgan Chase declined 0.52%, shaking off news of executives fleeing the bank.

  • Citigroup recovered from early losses to only lose 0.92%.

  • Wells Fargo stayed closest to zero, only losing 0.2%.

  • The KBW Bank Index, a broader measure of the market's bank stocks, was also down a modest 0.39%.


Change from this morning
In a lesson on why it might be important to not monitor the daily fluctuations in the market, we only need to look back to earlier this morning to see how quickly the market can shift. Within the first hour of trading this morning, Citigroup had experienced a 2% decline, primarily based on the news out of Asia. But, as we can see from above, it pared that loss significantly by day's end.

Citigroup isn't the only large bank with operations in Asia, but it might be the most exposed, with 18% of its total revenue from the region. Bank of America, on the other hand, derives only 4% of its revenue from Asia, so the news out of Asia earlier this morning should have minimal impact on its short-term results.

What's the takeaway?
If today has taught Foolish investors anything, it's that seemingly minor news events should not have an impact on investing decisions. Unless you specifically invested in any of the Big Four banks because of their Asian region exposure, the news should only be a blip on your radar, and nothing more. No fundamental change has occurred at the banks and, while revenue in Asia might be slightly affected as a result, all the banks still do a majority of their business elsewhere.

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The article Bank of America Idles as Market Stays Flat originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Robert Eberhard has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup Inc , JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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