MW: Canadian banks active on big deal, U.S. banks fall
By Greg Morcroft
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. financial stocks traded lower on Thursday ahead of a much-anticipated speech Friday from Federal Reserve Chairmen Ben Bernanke, but a big industry acquisition in Canada and a series of dividend hikes there sparked action to the north. Bank of Nova Scotia agreed to buy ING Bank of Canada from its Dutch parent ING Groep NV ING +3.69% for C$3.126 (US$3.159 billion) in cash, the latest in a string of big purchases by the Canadian bank and its biggest-ever takeover. In U.S. trading, Canadian bank shares were mixed. Bank of Nova Scotia BNS -2.31% fell 2.3%, while Royal Bank of Canada RY +1.16% added 1.2%. Royal Bank and Toronto Dominion Bank TD -0.96% both reported higher profits and raised their dividends on Thursday. In the U.S., the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF XLF -0.53% , which tracks the financial stocks in the S&P 500 SPX -0.50% , fell 0.6%, Among the financial stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.49% , Bank of America BAC -0.75% fell1%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. JPM -0.64% lost 0.6%, American Express Co. AXP -0.58% dropped 0.6% and Travelers Cos. Inc. TRV -0.28% lost 0.6%.
