Citigroup Inc. (C), Bank of America Corp (BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC): Why It Is Crashing Today

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is down 2.21% already today. After a solid first-quarter earnings report on Wednesday, it’s not entirely clear what’s driving shares down today, but poor market reaction to Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)‘s first-quarter earnings report probably isn’t helping things.

Big-bank roundup
All the big banks are down today, as well as the markets:

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) is leading the retreat, down a massive 4.76% so far.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is also collapsing, down 3.07%.

Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) is even down more than a point: 1.12%

The herd has spoken
Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) reported first-quarter earnings today, which were far better than any investor had the right to hope for, but the market clearly doesn’t see it that way. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) itself reported solid earnings on Wednesday. Investors, again, had every reason to be pleased. And they certainly were: on Wednesday. But not today.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) reported their first-quarter earnings last Friday. There were some signs of trouble for both banks, like shrinking total revenue and a shrinking mortgage business, but overall, the news was very good.

Chances are, all the big banks are just following Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) into the pit of pessimism and despair. There’s no other reasonable explanation for all of them to be plummeting Earthward like they are.

The markets are down, too. Throw that on top of everything. Though it’s entirely possible the banking sector is dragging the markets down along with it. Call it the chicken-and-egg effect: Which is dragging down the other?

In times like this, remember that you’re in it for the long-term. Keeping an eye on company fundamentals and ignoring the day-to-day gyrations of the market are at the heart of investing Foolishly. “Get rich slowly” is one of The Motley Fool’s investing mottos, and maybe something to keep handy on a Post-It for moments like this, when the markets are so inexplicably volatile.

The article Why Citibank Is Crashing Today originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Grgurich.

Fool contributor John Grgurich owns shares of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase. Follow John’s dispatches from the bleeding heart of capitalism on Twitter @TMFGrgurich. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.