ING, Bank of America dominate trading; Aegon moves up then down after earnings beat estimates

By Stephanie N. Rotondo

Portland, Ore., Nov. 10 - Preferred stocks finished Thursday's session "pretty mixed," according to a market source.

He noted that "going into the long weekend," volume was on the muted side.

ING Groep NV was trading actively and higher, though there was no news out to drive the gains.

Bank of America Corp. was busy and mixed. As with ING, there was no news to cause the somewhat heavy volume.

"It's hard to see what's driving it," a source said of Bank of America's activity. "There's really no news."

Meanwhile, Aegon NV preferreds "jumped" in early trading, according to a trader. By the end of the day, however, the issues were "sliding back in."

The insurance company reported earnings Thursday.

ING recoups losses

ING Groep preferreds were trading busily and better during Thursday's session, though with no real news to act as catalyst.

One market source speculated that the gains were simply a "reaction to the overselling from a couple days ago."

The 7.05% perpetual debt securities (NYSE: IND) inched up 2 cents to $18.76, while the 8.5% perpetual hybrid capital securities (NYSE: IGK) rose 12 cents to $23.01.

The 7.375% perpetual hybrid capital securities (NYSE: IDG) meantime gained 11 cents, closing at $19.25.

ING is an Amsterdam-based financial services company.

BofA busy but mixed

Bank of America preferreds, like ING, were trading actively, but they ended in mixed fashion.

One market source said he was "completely perplexed" by the preferreds' performance given the lack of real news to drive the action.

For instance, he said that the 6% capital securities (NYSE: BACPZ) "jumped 55 cents and stayed in that range for the rest of the day." He had no explanation for the increase.

The capital securities closed up 28 cents, or 2.78%, at $21.45.

The Merrill Lynch floating-rate series 4 noncumulative preferreds (NYSE: BMLPJ) were also higher, rising 91 cents, or 5.25%, to $18.25.

But the 8.2% series H depositary shares (NYSE: BACPH) finished down 23 cents at $23.85.

Bank of America is based in Charlotte, N.C.

Aegon gains, falls back

A trader said Aegon preferreds "jumped" in early trading after the company reported earnings that "beat estimates." However, by the end of business, the preferreds were "sliding back in."

The 7.25% perpetual capital securities (NYSE: AEF) fell 13 cents to $22.31. The issue had traded as high as $22.75.

Aegon, which owns U.S.-based Transamerica Corp., reported net income of €60 million, versus a profit of €657 million the year before.

Analysts had been expecting a loss of €3.3 million.

The Dutch insurer blamed the 91% decline in profits to stock market declines and also noted that it took a charge to indicate lower long-term interest-rate assumptions.

"Challenging financial market conditions clearly impacted Aegon's earnings," said Alex Wynaendts, chief executive officer, in a statement. "The actions we have taken to strengthen our balance sheet have enabled us to withstand the extreme market volatility we have seen in recent months while also continuing to grow our business."

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