Wall Street closes lower as banks, energy shares tumble

NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes finished lower on Friday, weighed down by big U.S. banks after their earnings reports, while the energy fell sharply due to a regulatory probe into Exxon Mobil Corp.

The S&P 500 banks index lost ground as shares of Wells Fargo & Co, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc tumbled even though they had posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits. The bank sector had rallied sharply in recent days.

Wells Fargo, down 7.8%, was among the biggest drags on the S&P 500, along with Exxon Mobil, down 4.8%.

“Financials and energy have been disappointing … that’s bringing down the whole market,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina.