The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.45%) is in a bit of a slump this morning, still unsure of itself as the debt ceiling deadline gets closer. A deal penned by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., could serve as a last-minute reprieve, extending timelines and avoiding a U.S. default. Investors aren't terribly impressed, and the Dow has been on a roller-coaster ride all morning.
More bank earnings stir the pot
Following earnings reports by JPMorgan Chase (JPM 0.51%) and Wells Fargo this past Friday, Citigroup (C 1.45%) announced its own third-quarter results earlier today. As expected, Citi showed depressed trading revenues: fixed-income revenue was down 26% from the year-ago quarter, and 17% from the linked quarter. This made JPMorgan's own year-ago and second-quarter losses of 7.7% and 16%, respectively, look less injurious by comparison.
While both JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs (GS 0.95%) experienced a lift earlier this morning, the general malaise on the Dow dragged them down for a time. Like JPMorgan and Citi, Goldman is expected to clock lower trading revenues when it reports earnings on Thursday of this week, which might cause investors some concern.
Former Dow component Bank of America (BAC 2.45%) reports its third-quarter results tomorrow, and investors are bidding up the share price, apparently not too worried about the big bank's earnings.
As lunchtime approaches, JPMorgan has risen by more than 0.3%, though Goldman is still in the red. Citigroup, which began its earnings conference call at 11 a.m. EDT, has climbed out of the abyss, and is currently up by 0.5%.
The Dow, meantime, continues riding the seesaw -- a state of affairs that is likely to continue as long as the chance of a U.S. debt default looms.
