Financial Sector Ended In Slightly Positive Frame, With C Feeling The Heat Of Treasury Selloff (XLF, SPX, KBE, C, CBG, ETFC, JNS, MS)

The financial sector ended in positive territory on Monday, with The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLF), a barometer for the financial sector, adding 0.1%. However, the SPDR KBW Bank ETF (NYSE: KBE) closed down 0.5%, while the broader S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPX) fared better and gained 0.6% at the end of the trading day.

Over the day yesterday, the financial sector was pulled down by Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C), which declined 3% to close at $4.18. The pullback in C was triggered by the announcement by the Treasury Department on the unwinding of its large stake (amounting to 7.7 billion shares) in the banking giant this year, subject to market conditions. The Treasury Department owns this stake as a result of the financial bailout.

Considering Citi’s high trading volume, analysts believe that the company would be able to weather the sale without coming under too much pressure.

Meanwhile, CB Richard Ellis Group Inc (NYSE: CBG) jumped roughly 7% after Goldman Sachs added the real-estate firm to its so-called conviction buy list for the Americas. Other top gainers in the financial sector yesterday were E-Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ: ETFC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Janus Capital Group Inc (NYSE: JNS).

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