Financial Reform More Favorable To Banks Than Expected

It was a mixed close for the markets with the Dow losing 9 points to 10,143 as investors weighed a downward revision of the GDP against less stringent than expected regulation of the financial services industry. Nasdaq gained 6 points to 2223.

On the upside

Raymond James analyst Steven Schwartz upgraded American Equity (NYSE: AEL) citing a Congressional decision to allow states to continue regulating indexed annuities.

Shares of Citigroup (NYSE: C), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and all rose as details emerged about the financial reform bill showing government restraint with regards to new regulations.

On the downside

Banner (Nasdaq: BANR) priced its offering of 75 million common shares at $2 per share.

Shares of BP (NYSE: BP) continued falling due to soaring clean up expenses for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Nasdaq Stock Market informed Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: MIPI) that its market capitalization failed to meet minimum standards for listing.

Dilution concerns weighed down shares of Hampton Roads (Nasdaq: HMPR).

In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin of more than 5 to 2 on the NYSE and by more than 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks soared 11 points to 645.