US stocks lower at the end of mixed week
Wall Street stocks retreated on Friday to close out a mixed week as markets monitored regional bank shares and awaited key talks to avert a US debt default. The White House said on Thursday that negotiations between President Joe Biden and Republican congressional leaders would be postponed until early next week to allow staff to continue working. "Wall Street seems sanguine about the debt ceiling, perhaps because the country has never defaulted and there's still a three-week window during which a deal could be struck," said a note from Charles Schwab. "Still, it's hard to see the market getting much traction with this overhang." The Dow Jones dipped less than 0.1 percent to 33,300. The S&P 500 shed 0.2 percent to 4,124, while the Nasdaq declined 0.4 percent to 12,284. Both the Dow and S&P 500 ended the week with modest losses, while the Nasdaq posted narrow gains. Regional banks mostly fell, although the declines were less severe than in some recent sessions. PacWest Bancorp dropped 3.0 percent and Comerica lost 2.1 percent, while Western Alliance Bancorporation climbed 2.1 percent. Besides the resumption of talks on the US debt ceiling, next week's calendar also includes congressional testimony on the banking industry's ongoing travails. These include a hearing on Tuesday with former heads of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, two of the major lenders that have failed in recent weeks. (AFP)