Financials Flat As Rotation Into Sector Pauses -- Financials Roundup

Banks, lenders and other financial companies were more or less flat after leading the market for much of the last month.

Analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley said a rotation into "more cyclically geared and/or cheaper sectors like Financials and Health Care" is a positive sign for equity markets after the wobbles in the tech sector. The Morgan Stanley analysts estimated the Standard & Poor's 500 will rise to 2700 before rising interest rates winnow growth rates. "Just as Hercules had to cut multiple heads off the hydra to defeat the creature, we think that it will take more than the recent unsteadiness in Tech to bring the equity markets down," said the Morgan Stanley analysts.

Other strategists echoed predictions that the economic expansion and the bull market in stocks would continue. "The current Goldilocks scenario of low inflation and slow growth should allow the current long expansion to continue, even as the rate of growth remains slower than average expansions," said Bob Doll, chief investment strategist at money manager Nuveen Investments.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 10, 2017 16:26 ET (20:26 GMT)