Poor results from US banks spark concerns

New York

BIG US banks have gotten earnings season off to a bumpy start with a spate of reports that missed expectations and highlighted growing unease about the economy.

In the last two days, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup all reported disappointing earnings, floundering on weak trading revenues and, in some cases, large legal expenses.

Wall Street reacted bitterly to the results, punishing not only the banking sector, but the broader market. The S&P 500 on Thursday closed below 2,000 for the first time in a month, falling for the fifth consecutive day.

The weak results from financial firms have quashed the momentum that pushed equity markets to record highs late last year.

"There was so much optimism after the fourth quarter that the worst was behind us," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial. "Nothing is worse for a stock than to think that you're on an upward trajectory only to discover that you're not and to realise that there's still…