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CNBC ON DIGG

Financials Stress: Performance Since Lehman

Published: Monday, 4 May 2009 | 9:45 AM ET

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By: Ariel Nelson
Director of Market Data & Content Services

As the markets look forward this week to the results of the stress tests, many believe the worst is past us and the rally will continue. Here is a look back at where many of the financials stand today relative to where they were just before Lehman Brothers went under.

Just before Lehman fell, the Dow [.DJIA Loading... () ] was at 11422 and the S&P 500 [.SPX Loading... () ] was at 1252. Since then, and even with the recent March-April rally, they are both down about 30%. The S&P Financials Sector is down ~50% since September 12, 2008.

Over the rally, many financials made gains over 100%, but they are still way down from their pre-Lehman prices. Blue Chips like Goldman Sachs [GS Loading... () ], JP Morgan Chase [JPM Loading... () ] and Morgan Stanley [MS Loading... () ] have weathered the storm much better than their peers.

But what is the market anticipating from the upcoming stress test release? New short interest data from ThomsonReuters shows that the pessimism appears to be fading. Most of the shorts are down from where they were before Lehman went under and some are closer to levels they were at a year ago. The numbers are up from where they were mid-March. Citigroup [C Loading... () ], of course has had the biggest change of the sample.