BAC stock traded as high as $7.90 a share at the open, however, the stock is now trading in negative territory and lower by 0.05 cents to $7.59 a share. Short term traders should watch for intra-day support around the $7.40 and $7.20 levels.   ....

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) is the most important financial stock that any trader can follow at this time. This stock has lead the major market indexes higher throughout the first three months of 2012 and now the same stock is leading the markets lower. JPM stock has come under some major scrutiny after reporting a $ 2 billion trading loss in its investment unit.

The golden age for foreclosure squatters may soon be coming to an end now that the $26 billion mortgage settlement has been approved.

The settlement, agreed to by the nation's five largest mortgage lenders, is expected to speed up the foreclosure process by providing stricter guidelines for the banks to follow when repossessing homes.

This afternoon, all of the large major bank stocks are holding up despite the sharp decline in the major stock indexes. Leading bank stocks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), and Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) are actually trading positive today by a few pennies.