Investing.com – Citigroup (NYSE:C) soared on Monday, driving broader gains in financial stocks, even though its fourth-quarter results were a mixed bag: its earnings beat forecasts while revenue missed.
Citigroup reported earnings of $1.61 a share, topping expectations for earnings of $1.55 a share, while revenue of $17.12 billion missed estimates of $17.57 billion. Its shares rose 4.4%.
The weaker-than-expected revenue was driven by a decline in the bank's fixed income business, which the company blamed on a "volatile" fourth quarter.
The mixed report from Citigroup did little to deter market participants, as investors viewed the recent sell off as "perhaps being overdone given the overall quality in the Citigroup report," according to Briefing.com.
Citi's strong gains triggered a wave of buys across banking stocks, as JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC), both of which report fourth-quarter earnings tomorrow before U.S. markets open, gained 1%.
Analysts are expected to parse JPMorgan's report for clues on credit quality as market volatility, economic uncertainty and falling oil prices during the fourth quarter has raised concerns about liquidity.
Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE:XLF) gained 1%, but remains down about 16% over the last year.