NEW YORK (Reuters) – The main things investors wanted to learn from first-quarter results by JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) on Tuesday was just how bad the coronavirus recession is going to get and how long it will take to get back to normal.
FILE PHOTO: People walk by the JP Morgan & Chase Co. building in New York in an October 24, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/File Photo
It looks decidedly unpretty.
Both banks reported major profit declines, primarily due to reserves for future loan losses, and executives said the worst is yet to come.
“In my mind, there’s more downside than there is upside at this point,” said Wells Fargo Chief Executive Officer Charles Scharf.
Shares of Wells Fargo were down 4.3% in afternoon trading, while JPMorgan’s were down 3.4%, even as the broader market rallied on hopes that local, state or federal officials might start to open the U.S. economy more as conditions improve.
The novel coronavirus has so far infected 1.9 million people around the world, including 582,114 in the United States. It continues to keep businesses shuttered and millions of people out of work, even as rays of hope have emerged.
Although China and Italy have started allowing citizens to go outside again after weeks of stay-at-home orders, and there is talk of similar moves in the United States, no one is certain how long it will take for the