European Banks Stocks Hit The Dumpsters

Banks in the USA have been hit, but nearly as hard as the rest of the world. While JPM broke a four-year trend line this week, WFC bounced down to six-year lows.

Europe looks dismal. Let's look at HSBC. It is hard to get excited when this chart has been trending down for two years but holding the $34-$35 lows. Now, the lows are just drive-through levels. Woosh!

Deutsche Bank (DB) and Commerzbank (CRZBY) both look rough. Commerzbank looks a little worse than DB, but neither are selling hope.

The French bankers are not faring well either. I think the best chart is the BNP Paribas chart (BNPQY).

Looking over to Australia, the same movie is playing out. It is not a positive when banks are underperforming. I don't expect the problem to start in America. For Bear Stearns, it was only a few days before the bankruptcy. Are we going to watch one of these charts just drop next week and never recover?

It is a vicious slowdown, but these banks have been ill for a while. The real question is, can they get any mojo or do they all start to spiral?

Be cautious.