Stocks rose on Monday, building on last week’s gains, as investors attempted to move on from the crisis that broke out in the regional bank sector earlier this month following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 215 points, or 0.7%. The S&P 500 was up 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3%.
Regional banks rose broadly, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) climbing more than 3%. First Republic was the best-performing stock in the fund, surging more than 23%. PacWest also gained more than 10%.
A series of events helped sentiment in the sector. CNBC reported over the weekend that the deposit outflows from small banks to industry giants like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo has slowed in recent days.
Also Bloomberg News reported that U.S. authorities were considering expanding an emergency lending program for banks, which could give First Republic more time to shore up its liquidity. First Republic ended last week down 46.3% as investors contemplated if the plan from a group of banks to deposit $30 billion would be enough to bolster its balance sheet.
And First Citizens BancShares agreed to buy large parts of Silicon Valley Bank, the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said overnight. The deal includes the purchase of approximately $72 billion of SVB assets at a discount of $16.5 billion, but around $90 billion in securities and other assets will remain “in receivership for disposition by the FDIC.”
“We continue to think that the Treasury has the capacity to provide a backstop for uninsured deposits if it becomes necessary,” Goldman Sachs’ Jan Hatzius said in a Monday note. “While we would not entirely rule out Treasury action if acute banking stress returns, the odds of a unilateral move from the Treasury appear very low.”
Deutsche Bank, which traders started targeting last week after the forced-takeover of Credit Suisse, was also rebounding Monday, up 4%.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen aimed to assure investors that the U.S. banking system remained stable and supported in commentary delivered over the course of the week.
Wall Street capped a winning week despite volatility related to the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate hike and the ongoing bank crisis. The Nasdaq Composite led the major indexes upward with a 1.7% advance. The S&P 500 finished the week up 1.4%, while the Dow added 1.2%.
Despite the recent turmoil, the S&P 500 is on track to finish March flat and the first quarter ending on Friday with a 3% increase.
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