Stock Market Update: Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Estee Lauder Cos Inc (NYSE: EL), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM)

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) said it lost $2.24 billion, or 26 cents per share, after accounting for the preferred dividends of $1.24 billion. That compared with earnings of nearly $3 billion, or 39 cents per share, a year earlier. The loss was 5 cents more per share than the 21 cents forecast by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters Inc. Its earnings follow the pattern set this week by Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), which also reported more loan losses during the third quarter as consumers struggled to keep up with their credit card and mortgage payments. Both JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported big gains from their trading operations. –Daily Finance

Industrial production in the U.S. rose more than three times as much as anticipated in September, putting manufacturing at the forefront of the emerging economic recovery. The 0.7 percent increase in production at factories, mines and utilities exceeded every forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed gains of 1.2 percent in August and 0.9 percent in July, Federal Reserve figures showed today. Capacity utilization, which measures the proportion of plants in use, climbed to the highest level in seven months. -Bloomberg

As of Aug. 31, there were 3.3 million homeowners 60 days or more late on mortgage payments, said Faith Schwartz, who runs the Hope Now Alliance, a mortgage-industry trade group working on foreclosure prevention. A hotline for troubled homeowners run by the alliance fields 5,000 calls a day, she said, although that is only half of the number being handled earlier this year. –Marketwatch

Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Cos Inc (NYSE: EL) expects to post a much higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raise its fiscal-year forecast later this month, after sales topped expectations, sending its shares up more than 5 percent. In August, Estee Lauder forecast first-quarter earnings of 23 cents to 30 cents per share. Analysts on average expect a profit of 25 cents. While Estee Lauder said it remained cautious about the economy and consumer spending throughout the year, it plans to increase its fiscal-year profit forecast when it reports first-quarter results on Oct. 30. In August, the company forecast fiscal-year earnings of $1.55 to $1.70 per share. Analysts are calling for a profit of $1.69. –Reuters

-Jutia Group