HOOD - Financial stocks climb after Fed speeds up tapering on path to liftoff

With the Federal Reserve moving to end its tapering of asset purchases sooner, pulling forward the potential for a rate liftoff, financial stocks thrive in Thursday trading, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) rising 1.6% in midafternoon trading. UBS analysts, led by Keith Parker and Erika Najarian, see significant upside potential for banks, with the firm's quant frameworks supporting Bank of America (BAC +2.9%) for its top pick. Other Buy-rated banks are Wells Fargo (WFC +3.5%), JPMorgan Chase (JPM +1.9%), PNC Financial (PNC +2.8%), and U.S. Bancorp (USB +1.9%). "A number of factors point to 20%+ potential upside for banks over the next year including a rise in short+long rates with greater EPS sensitivity, loan growth, QE ending, dividend growth and valuations not discounting resilient quality plus earnings upside," the analysts wrote. Looking at smaller banks, Raymond James analyst Michael Rose is bullish on banks as several trends, including higher

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Financial stocks climb after Fed speeds up tapering on path to liftoff