Markets mixed, bank stocks fall

Markets were mixed on Thursday.

The S&P 500 was flat, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.3 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent.

Bank stocks fell in the US and Europe after the ECB left interest rates unchanged on Thursday but Barclays thinks that the time is right to pick up European bank shares.

In a research note published on Wednesday, Barclays wrote that European stocks have the potential to push higher through the end of 2017, and with the euro rising, banks, transports and materials are likely winners while staples and health care are the likely losers.