U.S. stocks fell on Friday as several banking companies weighed down the major indexes on the final day of an otherwise strong week for equities.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 122.91 points to close at 24,360.14, with J.P. Morgan Chase as the worst-performing stock in the index. The closed 0.3 percent lower at 2,656.30 as financials dropped 1.6 percent. The Nasdaq composite declined 0.5 percent to 7,106.65. The indexes opened sharply higher on the back of strong earnings from some of the big banks.

Citigroup, Wells Fargo and J.P. Morgan Chase all reported quarterly earnings and revenue that surpassed analyst expectations. Bank shares initially traded higher before falling, as the strong results were already priced in. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) fell 1.6 percent, while J.P. Morgan dropped 2.7 percent.

Expectations for this earnings season are high, especially for financials. According to FactSet, S&P 500 earnings are forecast to have grown by 17.1 percent last quarter. Financials, meanwhile, are expected to see earnings increase by 24 percent. Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are all scheduled to report next week.

"I don't see how they don't do well," said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, regarding financials during the earnings season. "You've got rates rising as well as higher market volatility, so they should benefit from that."