The U.S. equity market has opened lower today, with all three major indexes in red. The Dow Jones opened lower at 11,139.60, the S&P 500 opened lower at 1,178.64 and the Nasdaq opened lower at 2,442.21.
Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) today reported its third-quarter financial results earlier today. The bank posted a loss of $7.3 billion, primarily due to a $10.4 billion write-down in the value of its credit card unit. Excluding this one-time charge, the bank reported third-quarter earnings of $3.1 billion, or $0.27 per share, beating consensus estimate of $0.16 per share. The bank reported $5.4 billion in provision for credit losses, down $2.7 billion from the second quarter of 2010 and $6.3 billion from the third quarter of 2009. Shares of Bank of America have opened lower today, and are currently down 1.13% to $12.20.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), the New York City-based investment banking giant, also reported its third-quarter financial results. The bank reported a 40% drop in third-quarter profit, primarily due to weaker trading revenues. Goldman Sachs reported third-quarter net income of $1.9 billion, or $2.98 per share, compared with $3 billion, or $5.74 per share reported in the third quarter of 2009. However, Gold did manage to beat Street estimates. The bank reported third-quarter revenue of $8.9 billion, down 28% over the third quarter of 2009 due to weaker performance at its trading and principal investments divisions. Shares of Goldman Sachs are currently up 1.20% to $155.54, after opening at $150.93.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.