Stocks rise on Wall Street, even the ‘most beaten-down’ banks
Asian stocks rise
NEW YORK, March 21, (AP): Stocks are rising on a calming Wall Street Tuesday, even the banks most beaten down by the industry’s crisis, amid hopes for more help from the U.S. government.
The S&P 500 was 0.7% higher in morning trading after trimming a bigger early gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 220 points, or 0.7%, at 32,465, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% higher.
Markets around the world have pinballed sharply this month on worries the banking system may be cracking under the pressure of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. If the S&P 500 squeezes out a gain, it would mark its first back-to-back rise in two weeks.
In the U.S., shares of smaller and mid-sized banks rose after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a bankers’ group more government assistance “could be warranted” if risks arise that could bring down the system.
Earlier this month, the U.S. government said it would make depositors at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank whole, even those with more than the $250,000 limit insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. They were the second- and third-largest U.S. bank failures in history.
They had struggled as depositors rushed to pull their money out en masse. Such runs can topple a bank, and investors have since been hunting for the next one that could fall. Much focus has been on First Republic Bank, which shares some similar traits with Silicon Valley Bank, and its stock had lost 90% for the year through Monday.
It jumped 33.4% Tuesday.
Other smaller and mid-sized banks also rallied, including a 7.1% climb for Comerica and a 5.4% gain for Zions Bancorp.
Hopes for the banking industry began to turn over the weekend after regulators pushed together two huge Swiss banks. Shares of both banks in that deal rose Tuesday in Switzerland, including an 8.5% jump for acquirer UBS. Credit Suisse, meanwhile, rose 2.6% after tumbling a day earlier.
Credit Suisse had longstanding problems that were relatively unique, but all banks on both sides of the Atlantic have the shared challenge of navigating a world with much higher interest rates than a year earlier.
Central banks have jacked up rates at
a blistering pace in hopes of getting high inflation under control. But such moves act like huge hammers with little nuance. They try to bring down inflation by slowing the entire economy.
That raises the risk of a recession later on. Higher rates also hurt prices for stocks and other investments. That’s one of the factors that hurt Silicon Valley Bank, which saw the value of its bond investments drop with the rise in rates.
The Federal Reserve is beginning its latest meeting on interest rates Tuesday, with an announcement slated for Wednesday.
Earlier this month, much of Wall Street was bracing for the Fed to re-accelerate its hikes and raise by 0.50 percentage points. A string of reports on the economy came in hotter than expected, including data on the job market, retail sales and inflation itself.
But all the turmoil in the banking industry has traders betting the Fed will stick with an increase of 0.25 points.
Traders are even beginning to bet that the Fed may cut interest rates later this year. Rate cuts can act like steroids for markets, and they would also give the economy and banks more room to breathe. On the downside, they could give inflation more fuel.
Beyond its decision on rates, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday will also release its latest projections on where policymakers see inflation and interest rates heading in upcoming years. While so much is still in flux because of the banking industry’s troubles, Wall Street tends to take the Fed’s roadmaps seriously.
In markets abroad, stocks rallied across Europe and Asia.
In the bond market, huge swings continue to rock the market. Yields have been mostly plunging this month on expectations for an easier Fed. The yield on the two-year Treasury, for example, tumbled from its highest level since 2007, above 5%, back below 4%, which is a massive move for it.
It rose to 4.15% from 3.97% late Monday.
The 10-year Treasury yield, which helps set rates on mortgages and other important loans rose to 3.57% from 3.44%.
Asia
Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve decision on another possible interest rate hike amid worries about global banks.
Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul advanced. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Oil prices declined.
The Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4% to 3,246.88 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.9% to 19,175.92.
The Kospi in Seoul rose 0.4% to 2,387.52 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 surged 0.8% to 6,955.40.
New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets rose.
Europe
Swiss regulators arranged Sunday for UBS to acquire rival Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion.
Credit Suisse has been battling a unique set of problems for years, but they came to a head last week as its stock price tumbled to a record low.
Attention in the United States has focused on smaller and mid-sized banks.
The surge in the Fed’s benchmark lending rate to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, up from close to zero at the start of last year, caused prices of bonds and other assets on banks’ books to fall, raising concern about their financial health.
First Republic Bank has been at the center of investors’ crosshairs in the hunt for the industry’s next victim. Its shares fell 47.1% after S&P Global Ratings cut its credit rating for the second time in a week.
S&P said it could lower the rating even further despite a group of the biggest U.S. banks announcing last week they would deposit $30 billion in a sign of faith in First Republic.
Oil
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude lost 56 cents to $67.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 90 cents on Monday to $67.64. Brent crude, the price basis for international oil trading, declined 59 cents to $73.20 per barrel in London. It gained 82 cents the previous session to $73.79.
Currencies
The dollar rose to 131.39 yen from Monday’s 131.32 yen. The euro declined to $1.0713 from $1.0724.