Market Opens Lower as Bank of America and Goldman Sachs report Q3 Results
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.
