Financials Down as Traders Rotate Into Defensive Areas -- Financials Roundup

Banks, lenders and other financial companies fell slightly as traders rotated into more defensive sectors of the market.

Banks led the stock market for most of the year, as rising interest rates and Trump administration pledges to deregulate and cut taxes promised to fatten profits. The SPDR Select Financial Sector exchange-traded fund, which tracks the financial sector of the Standard & Poor's 500, is trading near its highest level since the financial crisis.

British bank Barclays said it would take a noncash charge of $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter to reflect changes in the value of its deferred tax assets and liabilities. Many overseas multinational companies, including Swiss bank Credit Suisse, have warned investors about similar writedowns.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 27, 2017 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)