While you were sleeping: UPDATED Bank shares drop as revenue slides

Wall Street weakened as bank stocks fell following disappointing revenue updates from JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America.

Executives of the two biggest US banks said second-quarter trading revenue was set to drop at least 10%, according to media reports.

At the close trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 20.82 points, or 0.1%, to 21,008.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 0,08% to 6198.52 while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index eased by just over one point to 2411.80.

The Dow weakened as slides in shares of Goldman Sachs and those of JP Morgan Chase, down 3.4% and 2.4% respectively, outweighed gains in shares of Pfizer and those of Johnson & Johnson, up 1.7% and 1.0%. Bank of America dropped 2.9%.

In other earnings disappointments, shares of Michael Kors sank 9% after the luxury fashion retailer offered a full-year earnings outlook that fell short of expectations. It also announced plans to close between as many as 125 of its full-price retail stores over the next two years.

Oil keeps sliding
Also sliding was the price of oil amid fresh concern about the global glut. US crude futures fell $US1.34, or 2.7%, to $US48.32 a barrel. Brent, the global benchmark, fell $US1.53, or 2.95%, to $US50.31 a barrel.

"There doesn't seem to be an end to supply out there," Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA in New York, told Bloomberg. "And demand is not exactly rip-roaring."

Meanwhile, a National Association of Realtors report showed its pending home sales index fell 1.3% to 109.8 in April, from a downwardly revised 111.3 in March.

Significantly weak supply levels are spurring deteriorating affordability conditions, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in the report.

"Much of the country for the second straight month saw a pullback in pending sales as the rate of new listings continues to lag the quicker pace of homes coming off the market," according to Yun.

"Realtors are indicating that foot traffic is higher than a year ago, but it's obviously not translating to more sales. Prospective buyers are feeling the double whammy this spring of inventory that's down 9% from a year ago and price appreciation that's much faster than any rise they've likely seen in their income."

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 0.21% decline. The UK's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.1%, France's CAC40 Index dropped 0.4% and Germany's DAX Index rose 0.1%.

Sterling fell by as much as 0.5% to below $US1.28 after a YouGov poll showed that UK Prime Minister Theresa May could lose control of parliament in in next month's election – a scenario few had previously contemplated.

The pound then rebounded to $US1.2901 in late European afternoon trade, a gain of 0.3% on the day, after another survey gave Mrs May’s Conservative Party a commanding lead.

(BusinessDesk)