The S&P 500 fell again on Friday as banking shares came under pressure in the wake of troubles at Silicon Valley Bank, a lender to the tech sector facing big bond losses.
The S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 53 points, or 0.17%.
SVB Financial tumbled again on Friday, dropping another 63% in the premarket before being halted through the open. The stock has been under massive pressure after the company announced plans to raise more than $2 billion in capital in a bid to offset losses from bond sales.
Citing sources, CNBC’s David Faber reported, reported that the bank was in talks to sell itself after attempts to raise capital failed. Rapid deposits outflows, however, are outpacing the sale process, complicating the ability to realistically assess the bank.
The crisis at SVB hurt other banks as well as the broader financial sector, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF down about 3.5% and on pace for its worst week 2020. Several banks were halted repeatedly Friday, including First Republic, PacWest and crypto-focused Signature Bank, which were last down by 10% to 23%.
Bellwethers Bank of America and Goldman Sachs fell by smaller amounts, losing 1% and 2.4%, respectively.
Wall Street is coming off a sharp downturn, with the Dow losing more than 500 points Thursday. For the week, the Dow is down 3.6%, on pace for its worst week since September 2022, while the S&P 500 is off 3.7%.
Traders also digested the February jobs report, which gave some hints that inflation could be slowing. Payrolls increased more than expected, but investors focused on the smaller-than-expected gain in wages, which could cause the Federal Reserve to rethink more aggressive on rate hikes.
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.24% last month, lighter than the 0.4% increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Wages increased by 4.6% from a year ago, compared to the 4.8% estimate. The unemployment rate also ticked higher to 3.6%…
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