Huntington Labeled 'Bear of the Day'

Huntington Bancshares, Columbus, Ohio, has been designated the "Bear of the Day" for April 4 by Zacks Equity Research, Chicago. The Bear of the Day is a stock expected to underperform the markets over the next three to six months. "The merger with Sky Financial has weighed on the share price in the current quarter, with the potential for negative implications over the next several quarters," Zacks said. "The relationship with Franklin, inherited with the aforementioned acquisition, contributed significantly to this loss." The research firm noted the weaknesses in the housing and credit environment and said they "are expected to overhang the market in 2008." Zacks can be found online at http://www.zacks.com, and Huntington can be found at http://www.huntington.com.