Shares of US financial companies are rallying today after CNBC's Senior Economics Reporter, Steve Liesman, reported late Tuesday that the Obama administration might set a "bad bank," taking away toxic assets. Investors' optimism over quick actions by the new administration to contain the financial meltdown, have lifted the S&P 500 about 4% week-to-date. The Financial sector is currently leading all the major sectors to the upside with a gain of approximately 11.7% week-to-date.
Here is a look at the top percent gainers in the S&P 500 Financials sector week-to-date:
*All data as of 11:30 AM EST.
Year-to-date, Morgan Stanley is leading the Financials sector, with a gain of about 35%, followed by American Capital (ACAS), Federal Investors (FII), and SLM , up over 27%, 23%, and 18% respectively in 2009.
President Obama met with business leaders on Wednesday morning in the Roosevelt Room of the White House; a sign of the President's commitment to jump-start the economy as quickly as possible. Any swift actions by the Federal Reserve and Treasury to remove bad assets from financial institutions' balance sheets could be a bullish signal for some struggling financial companies.
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