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Banks’ capital troubles are losing shock value on Wall St.

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Investors may finally be getting bored with the mega-banks and their capital issues.

Today, rumors are flying (again) about which banks will be told to raise more capital when the government on Thursday announces results of the ‘stress tests.’

But the stock market has bolted ahead on some upbeat reports from the housing sector. The Dow Jones industrials were up 163 points, or 2%, to 8,375 at about 9:45 a.m. PDT, extending the gain from March 9 to 28%.

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Bank stocks are broadly higher as well after losing ground the last two weeks.

The Financial Times reported over the weekend that Bank of America Corp. already was working on a plan to raise $10 billion in fresh capital.

BofA spokesman Scott Silvestri told Bloomberg News that the Financial Times report was ‘completely inaccurate.’ The company ‘is not working on plans to raise $10 billion,’ he said.

Wells Fargo & Co. also is likely to come up capital-deficient in the stress test, the Associated Press reported today. And on Friday, the Wall Street Journal said regulators may press Citigroup Inc. to raise up to $10 billion to bolster its finances.

Investors today seem unfazed by it all, despite the risk of further dilution if the banks sell more stock to boost capital.

BofA shares were up 44 cents, or 5%, to $9.14 at about 9:45 a.m. PDT; Wells Fargo was up $1.58, or 8.1%, to $21.19; and Citi was up 13 cents, or 4.4%, to $3.10.

After surging in March and early April, bank stocks overall peaked on April 19, when the BKX index of 24 big bank shares closed at 37.19. The index is down 8.4% since then.

The rest of the market has kept going. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 3% since April 19. The average New York Stock Exchange issue is up 4.4%.

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-- Tom Petruno

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