Mixed session for Wall Street as bank stocks steady
The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Monday as a deal for Silicon Valley Bank's assets helped to boost bank shares, while a decline in technology-related stocks limited the day's gains. The S&P 500 banks index rose 3.1 percent, while the KBW regional banking index ended up 0.6 percent. JPMorgan Chase & Co shares climbed 2.9 percent and Bank of America added 5 percent. They were among stocks giving the S&P 500 its biggest boost on Monday. Shares of First Citizens Banc shot up more than 50 percent after it said it would acquire the deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bank, which failed earlier this month in the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis. Also, shares of First Republic Bank were up 11.8 percent after Bloomberg reported US authorities were considering more support for banks, which could give the struggling First Republic more time to shore up its balance sheet. Tech-related growth shares were lower, however, and the Nasdaq ended down on the day. "There's still a lot going on in the financial sector, and it's actually good news today," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York. But tech and growth stocks have "had a very strong quarter, so there may be some profit-taking as we head into the end of the quarter." The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 percent, to 32,432, the S&P 500 gained 0.16 percent, to 3,978 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.47 percent, to 11,769. Crypto shares were down on Monday after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said crypto exchange Binance and its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao have been sued by the CFTC for operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance programme. Among other stock gainers, Walt Disney shares ended up 1.6 percent after the company began 7,000 in layoffs announced earlier this year. (Reuters)_____________________________
Last updated: 2023-03-28 HKT 09:04 