U.S. stocks fell Thursday as investors continued to distrust bank stocks and as new economic data clouded the outlook for interest rates.
At 9:52 ET (13:52 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 228 points or 0.7%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1% and the NASDAQ It lost 0.1%.
First Republic Bank (NYSE) stock:FRC) fell 29% on fears of a deepening banking crisis. Bloomberg reported that the company is exploring a sale following the collapse last weekend of Silicon Valley Bank and SVB Financial’s Signature Bank and pressure on Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) on Wednesday.
Credit Suisse Group (NYSE) stock:.CSThey rose 3% after it said it had secured a credit line of up to $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank, which helped bolster liquidity.
The European Central Bank raised rates by half a percentage point, though the Federal Reserve is not expected to do the same next week. Most futures traders are inasmuch a quarter-percentage-point rate hike by the Fed after its meeting.
Complicating forecasts for the Fed’s next move, Initial claims for unemployment benefit They fell to 192,000 and were lower than the 205,000 expected. They were also down from the previous week, indicating that the labor market remains tense despite signs that inflation is declining slightly.
The Fed’s manufacturing index of Philadelphia, a key measure of U.S. manufacturing activity, was below expectations in March but improved slightly compared with the previous month.
U.S. social media companies rose after news that the Biden administration could try to ban TikTok in the U.S. if the parent of the China-based short-video platform doesn’t divest. Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ) Stock:GOAL) rose 0.2%, as did Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), 7.5%.
Oil continued to fall. The WTI crude futures fell 1% to $66.88 a barrel, while Brent futures Crude fell 0.8 percent to $73.06 a barrel. The Gold Futures were stable at $1,931.
