Sector Snap: Investment banks fall following UBS loss

Shares of Swiss bank UBS fell 86 cents in morning trading, or 2.5 percent, to $33.45 Tuesday. Shares have traded between $21.13 and $62.40 during the past year.

UBS's first-quarter loss was heavily tied to the subprime mortgage mess that started in the middle of 2007 and spread to the broader credit markets. The bank previously estimated it would reduce the value of its U.S. real estate and mortgage holdings by $19 billion.

Shares of Merrill Lynch also fell Monday as the investment bank said in a regulatory filing the amount of risky assets on its books rose during the first quarter. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Merrill Lynch said that as of March 28 it had $69.86 billion of high-risk assets. It had about $41.45 billion in so-called "Level 3" assets thee months earlier.

Investment banks are required to price assets at fair value, and "Level 3" assets are deemed the riskiest because their value is most difficult to gauge.

Merrill Lynch's shares fell $1.02, or 2 percent, to $50.38.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. shares also fell Tuesday as Deutsche Bank analyst Mike Mayo said continued deterioration in the credit markets outweighs the company's strength in risk management.

Shares of Lehman Brothers fell $1.23, or 2.7 percent, to $44.57. Shares have traded between $20.25 and $82.05 during the past year.

Elsewhere among investment banks:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares fell 38 cents to $196.74.

Morgan Stanley shares fell 28 cents to $48.44.

Shares of Bear Stearns Cos. fell 3 cents to $10.67.