The New York Stock Exchange opened lower on Monday, in a market rocked by recent US bank failures and the specter of a possible contagion despite announcements of official emergency measures to secure deposits.
In early trading, the Dow Jones lost 0.59%, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 0.80% and the broad-based S&P 500 index fell 1.08% as several regional banks collapsed.
According to the Bloomberg news agency, investors poured money into safer assets, buying government bonds and gold and selling bank shares as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank echoed on the trading desks.
Bank of the First Republic dropped by 67% before stalling on growing concerns about the state of US regional banks. The KBW BanK index was on its way to its greatest downfall in one day since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
JPMorgan Chase (-2.87%) and Citigroup (-5.30%) also fell. But the biggest losses were for the regional banks.
Investors are absorbing the consequences of regional bank failures and efforts by regulators to stabilize the financial system.
The prediction that there will be more bankruptcies it doesn’t look good.
“When the Fed raises rates so fast, it breaks things 9 times out of 10. we could see more business failureswe could see more regional banks go bust,” Rathbones co-chief investment officer Edward Smith said in statements reported by The Wall Street Journal.
“The problem is that no one wants to be the last one in a room to turn off the light. In other words, as soon as there’s a problem at the bank, the fear is real. Immediately everyone starts saying: ‘wait a minute, should I also have my deposits in ABCD etc?’”, explained Mayra Rodríguez Valladares, general manager of MRV Associates on Bloomberg TV.
But not all were losses. While the financial sector declined, others rose, such as the consumer staples and healthcare sectors, up 0.86% and 0.41% respectively.
Among the 30 Dow Jones stocks, the hardest hit companies were American Express (-3.99%) and Goldman Sachs (-3.2%). While the highest earners were Amgen (2.58%) and Procter & Gamble (1.78)
AFP extension
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.