Financials Lower After Mixed Earnings -- Financials Roundup

Banks, lenders and other financial companies fell after mixed results for investment banks.

Goldman Sachs ticked down as weakness in trading results dampened enthusiasm about the investment bank's higher-than-targeted quarterly earnings.

Morgan Stanley rose and vied with Goldman for the title of largest Wall Street bank by market capitalization as investors applauded its strategy of offsetting volatile trading results with steady wealth-management growth.

The White House has narrowed the search for the next Federal Reserve chairman to five candidates, including current Chairwoman Janet Yellen, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and the National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Analysts at one brokerage recommended clients use the recent scare about a breakaway by Catalonia to buy Spanish banks on the cheap. "The political risk is overstated, we think," said analysts at brokerage Credit Suisse, in a note to clients. "In our opinion, the crisis is unlikely to escalate further and will result in a compromise (e.g. more autonomy for Catalonia, which will remain a part of Spain)."

Among the things that make Spanish banks compelling: "Spain has a fast recovering economy; Spanish banks are mainly retail banks...Spanish banks are unusually sensitive to rising rates; and...Spanish banks are not expensive relative to their peers," said the Credit Suisse analysts.

Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2017 17:48 ET (21:48 GMT)