Financial exchange traded funds followed key holding Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) lower Friday as the banking sector can’t seem to get in gear and join the market rebound.
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLF) was down fractionally in afternoon dealings. The ETF has lost 18.5% year to date. [Financial ETFs Lag Market in 5-Week Bounce]
Bank of America, the market’s most active stock by share volume, fell nearly 2.3% in recent action.
Bank stocks have underperformed in recent weeks as U.S. Treasury yields decline.
“Over the past several weeks, U.S. economic data have weakened materially,” said Sterne Agee analysts in a recent note. “Combined with commentary from the Federal Reserve on a sustained period of low rates and ongoing uncertainty out of Europe, U.S. Treasury securities have rallied significantly, sending yields to generational lows.”